Market Insight: Premcar makes 10,000th Warrior
BY MATT BROGAN | 5th Jun 2024
AUSTRALIAN secondary vehicle manufacturing specialist Premcar celebrated production of the 10,000th Warrior model based on Nissan Navara and Patrol 4x4s last week.
The commemorative vehicle – a Patrol Warrior finished in Gun Metallic paintwork – rolled down the assembly line at Premcar’s facility on Wednesday morning, marking an important achievement for the team at Epping in Victoria that has been producing the off-road-enhanced range since 2019.
Premcar’s Warrior-branded Nissan vehicles have been a success from the start, with a couple of hundred sales of the initial Navara N-Trek Warrior recorded in the first year of sale.
Navara Warrior production then paused while the facelifted Navara went through Premcar's upgrade process to become the Pro-4X Warrior that launched in the second half of 2021, achieving 1000 combined unit sales by January of 2022.
Later that year, the Navara Pro-4X Warrior was joined by a more affordable SL-based variant quickly taking sales to an impressive 5000 units by April of 2023.
The Navara Warrior duo were joined by the Patrol Warrior in October of 2023, enabling Premcar to expand its production facilities – and to quickly sell more cars.
“This is another great day for Australian manufacturing,” said Premcar engineering director and chief executive officer Bernie Quinn last Wednesday.
“Since 1996, Premcar has secondary manufactured more than 200,000 new vehicles in Australia – and this number keeps growing.
“Australia’s car-making know-how is highly sought-after by major car brands. Premcar’s ability to maximise the appeal of global and regional new-car model lines in different countries is long established.
“Australia is the perfect example of how re-engineering and secondary manufacturing popular makes and models for local tastes can quickly grow a car brand’s new-vehicle sales.”
Premcar – formerly Tickford Vehicle Engineering (TVE) and then Prodrive Automotive Technology Australia – is approaching its 30th year of new-car engineering and manufacturing operations.
Following a management buyout by the company’s current Australian owners in 2012, the company’s sales are now 15 times that of a decade ago, the accompanying team growing from 25 to around 200 staff, comprising a mix of experienced industry specialists through to highly skilled university graduates and tradespeople.
In addition to its work with Nissan Australia, Premcar has also worked to provide country-specific suspension packages to new-vehicle platforms, engineering and design support to defence and aerospace industries, COVID-19 pandemic related medical supplies and equipment, and the development of specialist local electric vehicle powertrain conversions.
