Nissan gears up for new Navara in Thailand

NISSAN’S next-generation Navara will be built at a new plant in Thailand from late this year, not only meaning the end of the line for the venerable 17-year-old D22 Navara and its positively youthful 10-year-old D40 Navara sibling but also Nissan’s light truck manufacturing relationship with Mitsubishi.

For the past two years, Nissan has outsourced manufacturing of up to 40,000 Navaras a year to Mitsubishi’s Laem Chabang factory in Thailand, running the Nissan down the same line as the Triton ute.

But construction of a new $360 million Nissan plant in Samut Prakarn province is underway in readiness for the all-new Navara in the second half of this year, meaning Mitsubishi will have its factory all to itself for the production start up of its new Triton at the same time.

The new Triton is expected in Australia from December, while the Navara is likely about the same time or perhaps slipping into 2015.

The new Nissan factory – the second for the Japanese company in Thailand – is expected to have an initial capacity of 75,000 units a year when it opens in August, expanding to double that volume over time.

Ultimately, Nissan will have capacity to produce 370,000 units a year in Thailand, with a large slice of those vehicles destined for export markets, including Australia.

The new Navara will replace the current two versions – the older, cheaper and more basic D22 workhorse that has done duty since 1997, and the more modern but more sophisticated D40 popular with tradies and 4x4 ‘weekend warriors’.

No details of the new model have yet been released, but expect Nissan to stick with its tried and true formula that, until recent times, has helped to the company to punch above its weight in the light-commercial vehicle market.

This year, however, Navara 4x2 sales are down 54.7 per cent, while 4x4 sales have dived 45.9 per cent. This has been the main factor in a slump in Nissan’s LCV share, from 15.9 per cent this time last year to 9.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2014.

The Triton will be launched with a four-cylinder diesel engine, but is will get an electrified powertrain – most likely conventional hybrid rather than a plug-in hybrid – later in its model life.

A concept pointing to the new-generation Triton was shown at the 2013 Geneva motor show, although the polarising styling might be given a tweak ahead of mass production later this year.