Australian automotive powerhouse expands overseas

Melbourne-based automotive firm Premcar has been tapped by Nissan to expand its popular Warrior modification program to South Africa, where it’ll put its engineering expertise into the Navara ute – or should we say bakkie?

Premcar – an engineering firm born out of the death of Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) – first joined forces with Nissan Australia in 2019, enhancing the already rugged Navara N-Trek with its Warrior upgrades.

After the N-Trek was replaced with the Pro-4X as the Navara’s flagship grade, Premcar continued to give it the Warrior treatment, which has since expanded not only to the Navara SL but also the Patrol SUV.

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Now, Premcar, Nissan Australia and Nissan South Africa have announced a joint collaboration which will see the former firm tasked with enhancing Navara Pro-4X Warriors in South Africa for the local market.

This will see Premcar launch a joint venture with South African automotive firm AIH, forming an entity known as Premcar SA, with its Warrior upgrades to take place in the Rosslyn factory where the local-market Navara is built.

Deliveries are slated to begin in late April.

South African Navara Pro-4X Warriors won’t be identical to their Australian counterparts, with the overseas examples missing out on the winch-compatible bullbar, front light bar, red bash plate and 3mm under-body plating of those sold Down Under.

Warrior upgrades to the PRO-4X sold in South Africa includes:

• Re-engineered suspension
• ‘Warrior-style’ 17-inch wheels
• Wheel arch flares
• Warrior-branded front seats

Despite missing out on a handful of upgrades available in Australia, Premcar CEO Bernie Quinn says the South African Navara Warrior will show the local automotive industry can still make waves on the global stage.

“While the vehicles will of course be slightly different, the end result will be the same; a ute that feels perfectly suited to South African conditions, and one that broadens capability without ever sacrificing comfort,” Mr Quinn said in a media statement.

“This isn’t just important for us, but for the Australian automotive manufacturing industry across the board. We’ve known that Australia is home to some of the brightest automotive minds on the planet, and we can’t wait to show the world what we can do.”

While Australia’s automotive industry is nowhere near as big as it was when Holden, Ford and Toyota were building cars here, numerous firms such as Premcar have been able to find success.

Before it turned its attention to modifying Nissans on the company’s behalf, Premcar’s engineers made the ‘Holy Grail’ – the ultimate modification package for the final Ford Falcon, proving just what the sedan was capable of.

Likewise, Walkinshaw – the company formerly responsible for Holden Special Vehicles – now converts the Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Silverado and upcoming GMC Yukon to right-hand drive in Melbourne.

Ford no longer builds new cars in Australia, however its local engineering team led the development of the current-generation Ranger and Everest, both of which are available globally.

MORE: Everything Nissan Navara