Action removing up to $20k from current models clears way for new Triton-based edition. At some point.

AGGRESSIVE discounting of the current Nissan Navara is a runout … but isn’t a sign its Mitsubishi-spun replacement is being rushed here sooner than expected.

If anything, it seems possible the new model could yet take longer than indicated, depending on outcome of discussion between the regional office and Japan.

A special pricing campaign that has removed at least $15,000 and up to almost $20,000 on the more popular sellers in the current 15 variant range has begun.

The programme is being labelled a runout and enacts as thought about what next-generation versions should get priority is being discussed.

Jointly developed with the Triton under a technical alliance between the brands, the next Navara has previously been spun as an early 2026 arrival.

A year ago Nissan used a global media briefing about its medium-term business plan to indicate the replacement will launch in Oceania by fiscal year 2026, which ends on March 31, 2026.

However, with Nissan in a doldrums and keen to restore international confidence, latterly there’s been sign it’ll be revealed quite soon and be on sale in some markets before Christmas.

Whether that’s here seems unlikely. If anything, the wait could stretch, should regional preference about what types should come first cut no sway with Japan.

Nissan Oceania chief Andrew Humberstone, who bases in Melbourne and ultimately oversees NZ as well as Australia, has publicly expressed concern about the rollout starting with budget workplace editions, with pricier types adding subsequently.

Humberstone prefers an opposite approach. Get the glam, high-profit types, mainly favoured by recreational users, out first, and after that gradually filling out the family with cheaper options.

He went public with that view in early February and comment yesterday from Nissan New Zealand suggests Japan has yet to be convinced.

“In terms of the Oceania region (New Zealand and Australia) all we can confirm at this point is that an all-new one-ton (sic) pickup (leveraging Nissan's partnership with Mitsubishi Motors) will be launched in FY26…. ie between April 2026 and March 2027,” Auckland-based country manager Jenni Martin relayed.

Meantime the local run out might take a while, as even though production of the current model - released in 2014 and last updated in 2021 - is expected to end in two months, another 1000 units are on the way.

That additional consignment is more than half last year’s total registrations count.

Humberstone explained his reasons for taking top-end types first when meeting media in Australia recently; he suggested then he’d ruffled feathers but would stay his ground.

“There is a lot of discussion about which product comes first, which derivatives … I’d much rather the top-end first, that potentially is not where we currently sit.”

He revealed then that tough negotiations have been taking place and indicated a regional launch could be delayed over local expectations.

“Rather than get it three or four months earlier, I’d rather get it right,” he was reported by one website, carsales.com.au.

“So I am part of that problem, I am insisting we get exactly what we want for this market.”

In respect to what’s going on now, Martin simply says “we currently have stock of the current model across our dealer network in both New Zealand and Australia.”

The big push on now is being promoted as being about ‘MY24’ models - shorthand for vehicle produced for sale last year - however it’s for all Navara stock here and incoming.

Half of the impending shipment comprise the range-leading Pro-4X (above) that’s become a leading interest-maker since the incentive began in mid-March.

Pro 4X is down from its full recommended retail of $71,590 to $55,995 - a $15,595 drop — but two other variants in lower specification have had higher reductions still, of $19,395 for the entry and $18,500 for the medium grade STX.

Reductions for rear drives seem less dramatic. The highest spec rear-drive double cab is $39,995 and the less expensive, in SL, is line-ball with the range starter SL single cab chassis, at $34,995.

Navara was the country’s fourth most popular ute in 2024, when it achieved 1890 registrations, against 4231 for Triton and 7296 for Toyota Hilux. The market leading Ford Ranger achieved 11748 registrations. The gaps make it unlikely Nissan NZ could improve its standing, unless a better performer lapsed, however the incentive has spurred interest; 383 registrations for March equates to two months’ sales volume in the preceding period.

Much about the replacement is still under wraps, but it has been confirmed the model will base on the current Mitsubishi Triton (below) and will use the donor’s drivetrain.

That means introduction of a 2.4-litre biturbo diesel making 150kW/470Nm and a six-speed automatic with full-time four-wheel-drive, some employing Mitsubishi’s bespoke Super Select.

That’s in place of the current type’s twin-turbo 2.3-litre diesel, good for 140kW/450Nm, also always all-paw but with seven-speed automatic.

As much as Mitsubishi has been the leader of the ute project and Nissan the ‘follower’, the latter has been strong in its insistence that there will be clear differentiation between the Triton and Navara.

Humberstone has refuted the new vehicle will be no more than a badge-engineering exercise, saying said his brand’s version will be “very much a Nissan”.

“We are making sure that it's very much a Nissan. So we'll be making a number of changes to make sure that that's the case.”

Nissan believes it has benefits in technology it can add to the project, rather than simply taking a Triton and putting its own skin on it.