Premcar, which has been manufacturing locally tuned variations of the Nissan Navara since 2019, has celebrated a major milestone.

    Its 5000th vehicle, a Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior, rolled off its Epping, Victoria production line this month.

    Nissan sends assembled Navara utes from Thailand to Premcar’s production facility, where the Australian firm modifies them.

    Both the Navara SL Warrior and Pro-4X Warrior receive a raft of upgrades, including a winch-compatible hooped bullbar, integrated LED lightbar, bash plates, fender flares, a 100kg GVM upgrade, and retuned, raised suspension with new springs, dampers and jounce bumpers, among other changes.

    The SL Warrior costs $58,000 before on-road costs with a manual gearbox and $60,500 for the automatic which is $11,400 greater than the regular Navara SL 4WD but around $10,000 less than the equivalent Pro-4X Warrior models.

    To receive the “Warrior transformation”, the Navara undergoes 10 hours of production at 10 different work stations along the line.

    The Nissan Australia and Premcar partnership began with the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior in 2019, with the Pro-4X Warrior launched in 2021 and the SL Warrior following in 2022.

    Both Nissan Australia and Premcar announced last September work is underway on a Y62 Patrol Warrior, due later this year.

    Premcar has worked with brands for 27 years including the likes of Toyota, Ford and Mazda.

    Nissan isn’t alone in leaning on Australian firms to better its utes, with Volkswagen having enlisted Walkinshaw to produce upgraded versions of its Amarok.

    Walkinshaw also worked with LDV on its T60 Trailrider model before it was discontinued.

    Toyota Australia also modifies Thai-built HiLux utes, though it completes this work in-house. These include the Rogue, the defunct Rugged X, and the GR Sport due this year.

    MORE: Everything Nissan Navara
    MORE: Everything Nissan Patrol

    Jade Credentino

    Jade Credentino is an automotive journalist currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Jade has had a chance to review a variety of vehicles and particularly enjoys SUVs. She enjoys traveling and going on road trips exploring Australia.

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