Nissan’s Australian will take advantage of its bigger seat at the product-planning table to demand a focus on off-road capability for the next Y63 Nissan Patrol.
It’s been a big year for the Patrol in Australia, with the brand accruing half of its entire 2021 sales total in just the first three months of 2022. Better still, the brand says order volumes are still increasing, rather than falling away, despite a four-to-five-month waiting period for customers.
That success has given Nissan a bigger seat the Patrol product planning table for the new model – expected in 2024 – with the brand demanding a focus on off-road capability to continue its fight with the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.
“At three months into this year, we were at half as many as we did for the full calendar year last year, so obviously this year we’re going to have a better year than the last,” says Nissan Australia boss Adam Paterson.
“We have a substantial order bank of between four and five months, and the tempo of that does not seem to be slowing down. We still seem to be writing orders at a consistent, if not slightly increasing, pace.
“As the volume has increased, and we’ve been able to demonstrate demand for Patrol that is more than we’re able to supply at this point, we’re getting a bigger voice at the table.”
Reports out of the Middle East suggest the people at that table are currently discussing Nissan’s new “large-size” models, including a new-from-the-ground-up Patrol, Armada, Titan and Infiniti QX80.
While the brand has been silent on the project to date, cars_secrets reports that a source within Nissan Middle East confirmed the brand has been developing an all-new 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 engine to power the models, spelling the end for the 5.6-litre petrol V8 offered with the Patrol in Australia.
The reports suggest the new Y63 Nissan Patrol will pair the 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 with a new nine-speed torque-converter automatic transmission and a permanent all-wheel-drive system.
The move would mirror the one already made by Toyota, which launched the new LandCruiser 300 Series with a twin-turbo V6 good for 305kW and 650Nm, and Nissan, too, would surely seek to exceed the outputs of its current 298kW/560Nm petrol V8 with its smaller V6 engine.
One thing is certain, though, and that is that a Y63 Patrol will have a laser-focus on off-road capability, despite Australia being one of the few countries to put that capability to work.
“As far as unique specific requirements, it’s difficult to build those into a program when… we’re one of few right-hand markets,” Mr Paterson says.
“I would say that (the Patrol) has always been built to be a true off-road-capable vehicle, and that’s even more a requirement in this country than in other markets where it is sold,” Mr Paterson says.
“Even though its a similar product to the vehicle sold in North America, my experience is that the capability of it is utilised more here than it is overseas.
“So the requirements of this market, I feel, is to keep it very , very true to its off-road capable heritage, because it’s utilised. As we sit at the global table as far as requirements go, ours is to make sure it remains as capable as it’s always been.”
Keyword: A new off-road king? Look out LandCruiser, Nissan says the Y63 Nissan Patrol will crank up the 4WD capability for Australia