The future of the Renault version of the next-generation Nissan Navara – the Alaskan – has been locked in. But will it come to Australia – or will we get a different Renault ute?
The Renault Alaskan – the French car giant’s version of its joint-venture partner’s Nissan Navara ute – is set to live on with the next-generation model due in the second half of this decade.
However, the first Renault ute for Australia could come from a different source.
The Renault Alaskan – launched in 2016 as a rebranded version of the current Nissan Navara ute, with unique badges and some unique panels – will remain in production in Argentina alongside the Navara (where it is known as the Frontier).
While Renault and Nissan are yet to confirm if there will be another generation of the Alaskan, a statement from the alliance partners overnight said: “The successful collaboration on the Nissan Frontier/Renault Alaskan family, a one-tonne pick-up, will continue” with “Renault Group [to] produce the pick-ups in … Argentina for both Renault and Nissan.”
The new Nissan Navara is due some time next year, as exclusively reported by Drive last week.
As before, the Renault Alaskan version of the new Nissan Navara is expected to be identical aside from bumpers, tailgate, front wheel-arch panels and badges.
MORE: Exclusive: New Nissan Navara ute due next year
It is unclear if the next-generation Renault Alaskan would come to Australia – after plans to introduce the current Renault Alaskan to local showrooms were scrapped in 2019, when it would have been sourced from a now-shuttered factory in Spain.
The new Renault Alaskan is expected to come from a factory in Argentina, which also produces a car-derived ute that could be on the cards for Australia.
The local distributor for Renault vehicles in Australia declined to comment on future model plans, however the company has previously expressed an interest in any commercial vehicles produced in right-hand drive – and which meet Australian safety standards.
It’s possible a new Renault ute for Australia could come in the form of the Oroch, a smaller model based on a car-derived platform – rather than a body-on-frame workhorse – with dimensions similar to a Toyota RAV4 family SUV.
The current-generation Renault Oroch is based on the original, decade-old Dacia Duster – a small SUV from Renault’s Romanian budget brand – designed for South America, and does not meet Australian safety standards.
However, the next-generation model – due in the second half of this decade, based on historical model lifecycles – may be developed with right-hand drive, and advanced safety in mind.
Renault has confirmed an Oroch-sized vehicle will continue in Latin America – classed as a “half-ton pick-up”, due to its payload of approximately 650kg – alongside a Nissan-badged version.
As previously reported by Drive, Renault’s Australian importer Ateco has expressed plans to introduce the next-generation Dacia Duster SUV – wearing Renault badges – after its European launch in 2024.
Renault Australia general manager Glen Sealey told Drive last year the launch of Dacia cars in Australia would need to wait until the next-generation model, as the current cars on sale in Europe do not meet Australia’s ADR 85 strict side-impact crash safety standard.
While the next Duster – and related Oroch – may be developed to meet Australian safety regulations, there is no guarantee they will be able to earn five-star ANCAP safety ratings.
The latest Dacia cars have only achieved one- or two-star safety ratings in Europe, due to a lack of the most advanced crash-avoidance aids – which Dacia says have been omitted to keep the prices of its vehicles low.
Europe’s independent crash tester Euro NCAP – sister firm to Australia and New Zealand’s ANCAP – says protection for occupants in a crash in Dacia’s city-sized Sandero hatchback is “respectable”, and enough for a four-star rating.
Dacia global boss Denis Le Vot says the company does not fit its vehicles with lane-keep assist – which prevents cars unintentionally straying out of their lane – as customers are said to turn it off anyway.
He told the UK’s Top Gear magazine: “Lots of people deactivate the lane-keep assist. You do that because you’re a human being and you assess the situation so you deactivate the technology. What we do is we don’t sell it to you. We know that people deactivate lane keep assist, so why would we sell it?”
Plans for the next-generation Renault utes were confirmed alongside a media briefing detailing changes to Renault’s alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, which will see Renault reduce its influence at Nissan, and bring the companies closer to equal footing in the now-24-year-old partnership.
The post Nissan Navara twin – Renault Alaskan – to live on overseas, unlikely for Australia appeared first on Drive.
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