Thai interest in Aussie Nissan Navara Warrior

Global pick-up hot-spot Thailand could become an export target for the Australian-developed Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior.

The partners in the project, Nissan Australia and Melbourne-based automotive engineering consultancy Premcar, are in early negotiations to supply component sets to Nissan in Thailand for public sale.

An example of the Warrior was displayed at the Thai Motor Expo late last year, around the same time production for Australia and New Zealand began at Premcar's Epping assembly line.

"Some of the bits that go onto that car [Warrior] can be put on [in] other markets, not necessarily right-hand drive markets," Premcar boss Bernie Quinn told carsales.com.au. "You think about the safari bar, some of the injection-moulded components, some of the suspension. That translates.

"So the opportunity is to not necessarily bring those vehicles through this facility, but to supply kits of parts to make the same thing overseas."

Both Nissan Australia and Premcar confirmed discussion was underway for Warrior exports, but would not confirm the talks were with Nissan Thailand.

Selling the Warrior component set to Thailand would be like selling ice to Eskimos, as the south-east Asian nation is one of the major pick-up assembly centres globally. Almost all one-tonne utes sold in Australia are imported from Thailand.

That includes the Navara on which the Warrior is based.

The Warrior delivers significant chassis and cosmetic upgrades, providing improved off-road performance without affecting the standard five-year warranty.

Nissan is indicating the Warrior program has been well received and Premcar has upped production to as many as 15 per day on a single shift.

The two partners are now anticipated to expand their collaboration beyond Navara to SUV models in the line-up. A Patrol Warrior already appears to be a near certainty before models like X-Trail and Qashqai gain attention.

A right-hand drive conversion of the Nissan Titan full-size pick-up is also under consideration.

Premcar is also using the Warrior as an advertising billboard for its capabilities with other brands. It has designed, developed tested and manufactured the Warrior based on a brief supplied by Nissan Australia.

It already has a well-known relationship with Ford – Premcar evolved from the old Ford Performance Vehicles business – and has been linked with the much-mooted Ranger Raptor V8.

"I am hoping by 2023 we will have done six or seven programs of this [Warrior] scale," Quinn said, without naming names.

"Our strategy has this becoming our mainstream business, and by that I mean this one-stop shop approach."

Premcar employs 190 staff across three facilities. One hundred of those staff are sub-contracted to Ford's Melbourne-based global product development business.

Apart from local automotive work it also admits to supplying services to some Chinese brands, the US sports car brand Saleen and the defence industry. The global automotive engineering company RLE bought a stake in 2017.

Premcar is one of a number of locally-based engineering shops now doing local conversion work to factory standard.

Another is Herrod Performance, which is building the Ford Mustang R-Spec at the old Ford Campbellfield assembly line.

But the main player is the Walkinshaw Group, which converts the Chevrolet Camaro and Silverado to right-hand drive and provides that service to ASV for RAM trucks.

The Walkinshaw Group is in the box seat to become General Motors' Australian partner in the wake of the Holden shutdown.