Patrol Warrior nears as supply frees up

SEMICONDUCTOR woes and other pandemic-related interruptions have played havoc with supply of Nissan’s Patrol – though that certainly will not be news to anyone who has placed an order for one recently, with typical wait times being reported to be anywhere from six months to a full year.

What will be welcome news, though, is word that supply constraints on Nissan’s huge V8-powered 4x4 wagon are set to lift, with more cars on the way to bring relief to those still on a waiting list. 

“Number one priority for us right now with Patrol is supplying the overwhelming demand for the car,” said Nissan Oceania managing director Adam Paterson.

“We have very strong supply of Patrol in December, we are recovering our Patrol supply in Q1 of 2022, and that will ramp up and look much stronger than it has over the course of the last couple of months.”

“We really expect to be back to a much more regular supply situation by the April timeframe.”

But if you are considering dropping into your local Nissan dealer and placing an order for a Patrol of your own, there is one thing that may give you reason to wait just a little bit longer – the Patrol Warrior.

It is no secret that Nissan Australia has been chasing a true flagship for its Patrol range, looking to emulate the format it has now twice successfully applied to the Navara.

A Patrol Warrior is something GoAuto has reported on since the end of 2019, and Nissan executives have occasionally let slip that work on a ruggedised version of the big wagon is well advanced.

But when can we expect the Patrol Warrior program to bear fruit?

“High demand (for Patrol) isn’t necessarily affecting the study and engineering work that’s going on, but what the team has been able to do is that anytime you’re converting, modifying and working on a product locally that’s been homologated globally, there’s this approval process and there needs to be confidence in the local supplier that’s doing that work – the team has paved the way for that,” Mr Paterson explained.

The ‘team’ he refers to is understood to be Premcar’s engineering department, led by Nissan Australia’s product planning executives. Premcar was responsible for putting together both generations of the Navara Warrior package.

“We understand what’s necessary to get a program like this off the ground, so that will allow us to be able to execute something like this if we see the market for it, and the business case.”

“We’re still actively looking at (Patrol Warrior) – and we’ve paved the way for how we get it off the ground within the organisation. We’re just looking at how we execute.”

Earlier reporting suggested the Patrol Warrior could have gone on sale before the end of this year, but with Nissan prioritising deliveries of its regular Patrol line-up well into next year, it would seem premature to expect it any earlier than the second half of 2022. 

As for what form it will take, the Navara Pro-4X should provide a rough template. Suspension modifications to facilitate off-roading and long-distance touring seem like a natural fit, as do additional body cladding and protection.

As for price, with the Patrol Ti-L currently retailing at $94,115 the Warrior-tuned equivalent would likely wear a six-digit sticker.