Nissan PHEV ute expected to kick off China push for Australia

Nissan Australia has confirmed China will be a source of new models for the local market. Nissan Oceania managing director Steve Milette says the brand has its ‘hand up’ for several vehicles shown at recent Chinese motor shows.

But unlike some rivals, Nissan says these won't be off-the-shelf rebadges with a fresh grille slapped on. It says they'll be proper Nissans with the brand's DNA baked in.

Asked whether following Mazda, Hyundai and Kia into Chinese-built product was inevitable, Milette was quick to point out that Nissan isn't the new kid on the block.

“Well, we’ve had a partnership in China for over 20 years. Some of these partnerships you’re referencing might be relatively new or, like, spontaneous because there’s an issue to resolve, but for us it’s over 20 years. 

“I would say that vehicles from China will be one of our sources for Australia for sure, and so there are products that we are considering from that market.

“I would say not only because they’re from China, but because they’re the right product for our market.”

The first product is already testing on Aussie roads. The Nissan Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid ute is almost certainly first cab off the rank, and it may well wear a Navara PHEV badge when it lands here.

Built in China by Nissan's Dongfeng joint venture, the dual-cab teams a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor for 300kW and 800Nm.

That's enough grunt to give the BYD Shark 6 a proper run for its money. A camouflaged prototype has already been snapped doing laps around Victoria, and the ute could arrive in 2027.

Milette stressed that the China-sourced models will be joint efforts rather than a quick grab off the supermarket shelf.

“It’s not something that we’re buying off the shelf, importing into the market. It’s something that’s co-developed by the two companies for the benefits of Nissan and Oceania.”

So what else is on the shopping list? Milette wouldn't name names but carsales understands that SUVs are high on the list – particularly EVs and PHEVs that will balance out its diesel Navara ute offerings as emissions regulations intensify.

Nissan's Chinese joint venture has been pumping out new metal at a rate of knots. At the Beijing show alone it unveiled a revived Terrano PHEV off-road concept – another vehicle that could come to Australia. The Urban SUV PHEV concept was another.

Local dealers were told late last year that up to four SUVs could be sourced from Dongfeng-Nissan.

“We’ve got our hand up for many of the products that you would have seen at [the] China auto [shows],” he said.

“Our hands are way up. Not for all of them, but for some of them which we feel are very relevant to the Australian market.”

Of course, not every Aussie buyer has warmed to cars made in China. Plenty of punters still kick the tyres with one eyebrow raised, and Milette admits the ‘Made in China’ stigma hasn't completely carked it.

“I think it still is [a consideration] for some people,” said Milette, pointing to recent reports of product and connectivity issues.

Nissan's answer is simple: the badge on the bonnet sets the bar, not the factory postcode.

“For us, no matter where the vehicle is from, it remains a Nissan and it has to meet our standards of quality. And so, from a product perspective, for me, it’s a Nissan first and foremost, no matter where it’s built.”

Mazda's 6e is based on a Changan vehicle and Nissan seems keen to avoid looking like a copy-and-paste job.

Senior product marketing manager Alex Pecanac said these won't be badge-swapped clones in the vein of the Mazda 6e.

“Even though it’s potentially going to be China-sourced in the future, it’s got a dedicated Nissan management team from Japan,” he said, adding that the brand is looking at “specific Nissan vehicles that won’t actually have a Chinese copy per se.”

The timing makes plenty of sense. August 2026 VFACTS figures show vehicles sourced from China are up 72.6 per cent year-to-date to 244,855 sales. They're now comfortably outselling Japanese-built vehicles (195,614, down 20.6 per cent).

The Frontier Pro PHEV ute, or the Navara PHEV if Nissan Australia goes down that path, is almost certain to be the first of many China-built vehicles to roll into Nissan showrooms around the country.

More details on the BYD Shark 6 slayer are expected very soon.

A handful of SUVs to follow in EV and PHEV guises are likely and whether buyers embrace a Chinese-built Nissan as readily as a Geely or BYD remains to be seen.

But with its sales down 33.6 per cent year-to-date, Nissan can't afford to sit on its hands.

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