Nissan’s next Navara is a 300kW/800Nm plug-in hybrid ute with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol, on sale here in 2027. It looks great, but its electric motor is tucked inside an 8-speed automatic, which might leave it chasing the super hybrids we’ve driven.
Nissan Navara Pro PHEV joins the local line-up in 2027. Australia and New Zealand are the first right-hand-drive markets in the world to get it. It’s the sixth-generation Navara, and also Nissan’s first electrified ute anywhere and its first plug-in hybrid. The current ute is a Mitsubishi Triton twin with a 2.4-litre twin-turbo diesel making 150kW/470Nm, as we noted in our Chery Stockman story. The new ute doubles the power and adds a lusty 330Nm.
Nissan engineers here and in Japan developed it with Zhengzhou Nissan Automobile, in the city that houses Nissan’s Light Commercial Vehicle development centre. The first prototypes reached Australia in 2025. Five of them covered more than 20,000km, testing tyres, towing, load, and ADAS calibration, abut the work isn’t finished.
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ABOVE: 2027 Navara Pro PHEV
“Australia wasn’t simply where we tested Navara Pro PHEV. It was one of the markets helping shape it,” said Steve Milette, Managing Director of Nissan Oceania.
Nissan Navara Pro PHEV Keeps Its Gearbox
Overseas buyers get a 1.5-litre turbo petrol plug-in. Australia and New Zealand get a 2.0-litre turbo petrol instead, picked for towing and payload, and for sustained performance. A high-output electric motor is built into the 8-speed automatic, and the preliminary combined output is 300kW/800Nm, subject to homologation. The petrol engine still drives the wheels through that gearbox. Nissan uses the 8 ratios for low-range crawling and for low revs at highway speed, and both the 4×4 system and the differential locks are mechanical.
That’s the parallel hybrid recipe, and we know it well. The Ford Ranger PHEV we drove puts a 75kW motor inside a 10-speed auto behind a 2.3-litre turbo petrol. It makes 207kW/697Nm and manages 49km on battery. GWM’s Cannon Hi4-T pairs a 2.0-litre turbo with a 9-speed hybrid auto for 310kW/750Nm, the same system we tried in the Tank 300 Hi4-T.
The super hybrids do it differently. BYD Shark 6, which we reviewed, gives each axle its own electric motor, 170kW at the front and 150kW at the rear. There’s no conventional gearbox at all, and the 1.5-litre turbo petrol spends most of its life as a generator. A motor that still has to work through 8 gears might struggle to compete with that. We’re yet to drive Nissan Navara Pro PHEV, so the gearbox still gets to make its own case.
Where the Navara Wins and Where It Waits
Torque goes the Navara’s way. Nissan Navara Pro PHEV matches Chery Stockman’s 800Nm and makes 150Nm more than the Shark 6. Its 3,500kg braked towing figure beats Shark 6 by a full tonne and matches the Ranger and Cannon Hi4-T. Payload is about 1,000kg, and both figures are subject to final homologation.
Battery size and EV range are the gap, and Nissan will announce both closer to launch. The Ranger, with the same motor-in-the-gearbox layout, manages 49km. The Shark 6 claims 100km NEDC from a 29.58kWh Blade battery, the Cannon Hi4-T claims 115km NEDC, and the Stockman claims 96km WLTP from 34kWh. NEDC figures come with a 15 to 20% head on them, like a badly pulled schooner. Scrape off the froth and both still comfortably outrun the Ranger.
The rear suspension is still undecided. Nissan tested both leaf springs and multi-link coils and will decide closer to sales start next year.
A Hardbody Memory Above the Grille
It looks great in yellow, a square-jawed ute whose best detail is the 3 horizontal LED bars above the grille. They reinterpret the 3-slot bonnet opening of the 1980s D21 Hardbody, a nod any former owner will spot from across a car park. It’s handsome on a dirt road at sunset and doesn’t look out of place on a city street at dusk either.
Nissan Navara Pro PHEV is a 5-seat dual-cab with V2L and extensive soundproofing. Equipment varies by grade and can include a large central touchscreen and a digital instrument cluster, plus a panoramic sunroof and heated and ventilated front seats. Final equipment will be confirmed before launch. Prices and further specification details to follow. Nissan MORE covers it with a 10-year/300,000km extended warranty when it’s serviced with Nissan.
Nissan Navara Pro PHEV
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Engine | 2.0-litre turbo petrol |
| Electric motor | High-output, built into the transmission |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
| Drivetrain | Mechanical 4×4, mechanical diff locks |
| Power/torque | 300kW/800Nm* |
| Battery | To be announced |
| EV range | To be announced |
| Drive modes | ECO, Standard, Sport, Slippery |
| Terrain modes | Standard, Deep Snow, Mud, Sand, Rock, Wading, Expert |
| Payload | ~1,000kg* |
| Braked towing | 3,500kg* |
| V2L | Yes |
| Warranty | 10 years/300,000km (Nissan MORE, serviced with Nissan) |
| On sale | 2027 |
Plug-in Hybrid Utes
| Navara Pro PHEV | Shark 6 | Ranger PHEV | Cannon Hi4-T | Stockman | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power/torque | 300kW/800Nm* | 321kW/650Nm | 207kW/697Nm | 310kW/750Nm | 350kW/800Nm |
| Hybrid layout | Motor in 8-speed auto | Motor per axle, no gearbox | Motor in 10-speed auto | Motor in 9-speed auto | Diesel super hybrid, AWD |
| EV range | To be announced | 100km NEDC | 49km | 115km NEDC | 96km WLTP |
| Braked towing | 3,500kg* | 2,500kg | 3,500kg | 3,500kg | 3,495kg |
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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