South Africa’s car dealers buoyed by ongoing strong sales
Retail new vehicle sales continue to surge in South Africa despite global and regional conflicts, local floods and droughts.
- Industry News
- 2 April 2026
The Nissan Navara Warrior by Premcar has reached its first year on sale in South Africa, offering buyers a more capable, off-road-focused version of the standard Navara bakkie.
Nissan says demand has been strong enough that the local conversion operation is now running at full single-shift capacity, with no sign of interest slowing down.
The Warrior is built in partnership with Premcar, an Australian firm that has spent years converting Nissan vehicles for demanding conditions. The conversion starts with the Navara PRO-4X and adds a set of meaningful mechanical changes: ground clearance rises to 232mm via uprated shock absorbers and coil springs, the track width grows by 30mm for better stability, and MAXXIS RAZR tyres in a 275/65 R17 fitment handle rough terrain without becoming tiresome on tarmac.
Power comes from Nissan's 2.5-litre DDTi diesel, producing 140kW and 450Nm. Drive goes to all four wheels through a seven-speed automatic gearbox, and a low-range transfer case is fitted for more serious off-road work.
Outside, the Warrior is easy to spot. It gets a blacked-out grille, a wider front bumper with a more angular look, a sports bar over the rubberised load bin, and red accents on several of the conversion-specific parts.
Inside, the dashboard carries an eight-inch touchscreen with smartphone mirroring. Nissan's driver assistance package is standard, bringing lane departure warning, forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, and an around-view camera system with an off-road mode that gives a bird's-eye view of what the wheels are doing over rough terrain.
Premcar backs its modifications with a warranty to match Nissan's own six-year, 150,000km cover. A service plan running to six years or 90,000km is included in the purchase price.
In March 2025, a group of five Warriors completed a 1 000km route through the Northern Cape, tracing the Gariep River from Augrabies Falls to the Atlantic coast. It followed an earlier 8 000km drive from Rosslyn to Cairo completed in 2024.
The Warrior sits at the top of the Navara range, which also includes the Stealth, a cosmetically darkened variant positioned between the standard LE and the PRO-4X.
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