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Right-hand drive is on the cards for Nissan’s new hybrid dual-cab, which operates similarly to GWM and Ford’s hill-climbing PHEV utes, rather than BYD.
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The Nissan Frontier Pro ute is under consideration for Australian showrooms, as competition in the burgeoning plug-in hybrid dual-cab market heats up.
It will be exported to “selected global markets within a year,” such as Latin America, but all will initially be left-hand drive.
“Our company is considering the right-hand [drive], but I cannot say at this moment,” Ikuo Miyai, vehicle development engineer for the Frontier Pro, told Australian media at the Shanghai motor show.
“At this moment it's [for] China, and now we are considering another destination.”
Miyai-san said Nissan is hoping to use the Frontier Pro name globally, but said Navara Pro – when suggested by Drive – is “under consideration.”
“Frontier itself is a global name for the Nissan pick-up … [So] if we can use the same name in each country, maybe we can stay with this name,” he said.
“But [in] some countries another company uses Frontier sometimes unfortunately, so we should carefully confirm that.”
If it comes to Australia, the Frontier Pro would be the first plug-in hybrid ute from a Japanese brand – even if it is built in China – and likely sell alongside the new diesel-engined Navara, which will be a reworked Mitsubishi Triton.
The Frontier Pro is based on the Z9, a ladder-frame, dual-cab ute sold by one of the brand’s Chinese joint-ventures – Zhengzhou Nissan – with turbo-petrol or diesel power.
“This is a Nissan model, so we have Nissan requirements and a Nissan target. And the Nissan performance [requirement] is a little bit different,” said Miyai-san.
“Now we are progressing and developing to meet [the] Nissan global standard for every market.”
The two share their body structure and platform, but the Nissan adds unique front and rear styling, plus a different cabin, and its plug-in hybrid drivetrain.
Nissan-specific design cues were styled in the company’s Japanese design studio, Miyai-san said, with help from the Chinese team, which led the engineering process.
The Nissan executive could not confirm any potential plans to offer a regular, non-hybrid version of the Frontier Pro, which is understood to have been benchmarked against utes from GWM, Ford and Toyota.
He said the Frontier Pro’s plug-in hybrid system is “Nissan technology”, and does not use any parts from Alliance partner Mitsubishi, which is a PHEV specialist.
Powering the ute is a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, matched with a single electric motor sandwiched between the engine and transmission, and a conventional four-wheel-drive system.
It is closer in concept to the GWM Cannon Alpha and Ford Ranger PHEVs, which have one electric motor each in a similar position to the Nissan, and can drive all four wheels on petrol or electric power, or both, at any given time.
Miyai-san confirmed the Frontier Pro can run in a variety of modes, from range-extender – where the petrol engine is used to charge the battery, and the electric motor is solely driving the wheels – to a petrol-only direct drive, without electric assistance.
In contrast, the BYD Shark 6 uses dual electric motors – one on each axle – and the petrol engine can only directly drive the front wheels, when it is not simply supplying energy to the battery.
The Frontier Pro produces 320kW and 800Nm, and is rated for driving ranges of 135km on electric power – or 1046km in hybrid mode – based on NEDC lab testing, thanks to a circa-33kWh battery pack.
Performance is no match for a Shark 6 – Nissan claims a 7.6-second 0-100km/h acceleration time, in line with a V6 Ford Ranger but short of the BYD’s 5.7sec.
Fuel consumption with a depleted battery is claimed at 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres.
Nissan quotes a 700mm maximum wading depth, and 3.5-tonne braked towing capacity.
It uses independent front and live-axle rear suspension, but with coil springs on all four wheels – rather than rear leaf springs of most diesel utes – and four-wheel disc brakes.
The transmission is described as a “four-speed hybrid dual-motor gearbox”, and there appears to be a traditional transfer case for splitting torque between the front and rear axles.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
