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2015 Nissan Navara: Electric model possible, hybrid less likely

The all-new Nissan Navara brings with it a pair of downsized turbo diesel engines, though the brand is already looking at a possible electric version of the popular ute.


Takashi Fukui, Nissan Navara chief vehicle engineer, said the company is "not yet" working on any hybrid version of the car. He remained silent on the possibility of a standard EV model but Edouard Masurel of the Nissan Navara global marketing team was more open about the chances of  Navara that is refilled via a powerpoint rather than a diesel or petrol bowser.

"You know Nissan, we are already at EV. So we are thinking about the future, about a lot of options: hybrid, EV," he said, referring to the company's Leaf hatch and the electric e-NV200 commercial van, which was recently spied undergoing testing in Melbourne (below).

When asked specifically about the chance of an electric Navara, Masurel was to the point.

"Why not? Why not? We’re the only manufacturer to propose it on two cars: we have Leaf, we have eNV200 – why not in the future to bring some of this technology on a pick-up truck as well?" he said.

"We just launched e-NV200 on the European market, which is an EV. So all options are open. It’s also depending on the market, market-readiness. So we’re investigating it," Masurel said.

"You may be aware that in Japan we are already in the testing phase of an EV truck, the Atlas. Not yet pick-up, but who knows? We are working on all possible options."

Australian buyers will see a choice of two diesel versions as part of the initial launch of the new Navara early in 2015 - both will be downsized, 2.3-litre four-cylinder powerplants: a single-turbo with outputs of about 118kW and 403Nm, and a twin-turbo with confirmed numbers of 140kW and 450Nm.

A 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder will also follow, with that engine expected to be the same unit as is fitted in the Altima mid-size sedan according to Fukui. That would mean power outputs of about 127kW and 230Nm as the car has, but initial information seen by CarAdvice suggests power figures of 118kW/231Nm.

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