The head of design at Nissan has revealed he travelled across Australia to better understand the culture around utes, which informed the design of the forthcoming Navara.
Senior design director at Nissan, Ken Lee, said the love of utes in Australia and New Zealand influenced how he approached the look of the new Navara – while also honouring four decades of Nissan utes locally.
“When designing the new Navara, we’re honouring nearly 40 years of heritage while creating something completely fresh for today’s Australian and New Zealand buyers,” Mr Lee said.
“Living and travelling across Australia gave me deep insight into its diverse landscapes and passionate car culture. Utes are more than work trucks; they’re part of life. They haul tools during the week and carry surfboards or tow caravans on weekends.”
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Mr Lee also acknowledged that owners have an expectation of dependability and strength, with utes often used for off-roading, towing, and travelling to and from remote areas.
But while the Navara is touted by the Japanese automaker as having ‘Authentic Nissan DNA’, the ute will share its platform and powertrains with the Mitsubishi Triton, with the two models built on the same production line in Thailand.
After several facelifts and updates throughout the years, the outgoing Navara is now more than a decade old.
Despite its Mitsubishi Triton roots, the new Navara is set to have its own distinctive look based on the company’s latest design language.
“We needed to deliver a pickup that looks confident on a construction site but sophisticated enough for weekend family adventures,” Mr Lee explained.
“The design had to be both capable and aspirational, rugged yet refined.”
In a video posted by Nissan, teaser images suggest the new Navara will feature a bold new front-end with squared-off proportions – with unique light signatures helping to differentiate the Navara from the Triton.
However, it appears the doors and glasshouse are carried over from the Triton, which indicates exterior changes will be limited to front- and rear-end styling, as well as details like the wheels.
As reported in recent weeks, details of the new Nissan Navara have already begun to leak, ahead of the ute’s global launch on November 19, 2025 – with local deliveries set to begin in the first half of 2026.
