Nissan is preparing for customers to visit its showrooms to buy one of the final Patrol V8s as Australia is forced to wait for its twin-turbo V6 successor.
Nissan Australia says it is working to secure as many examples of the V8-powered Patrol Y62 for local customers as it begins the countdown to the end of the line – and its next-generation, twin-turbo V6 replacement.
While the new Y63-series Patrol went on sale in the Middle East late last year, Australian orders are not due to open until late 2026 – or possibly sooner – due to a two-year delay in the start of right-hand-drive production.
At the same time, fewer Y62 Patrols will come off Nissan's production line in Japan as slots are prioritised for the new model as it rolls out to left-hand-drive markets.
Nissan Australia and New Zealand boss, Andrew Humberstone, said the company is working to get as many Patrol Y62s as possible to prevent a stock 'blackout' before the next model arrives.
Demand for the V8 is at an all-time high, with Y62 sales setting a record last year at 8293 vehicles – the highest Patrol deliveries in 20 years.
"We're going to be very proactive. I'm trying to get as many Patrols as I can," Humberstone told Drive.
"It's not easy, so the demand will be high. There's demand to use that production on Y63 ... We've already got the engines, so we will fulfil our commitment, and we expect there to be a really strong demand right up until the new Patrol is brought into market."
"We have a couple of really good ideas on how we're going to manage that, and especially the transition from Y62 to Y63."
He hinted at a special run-out program for the outgoing Y62 – one which could focus on its engine being the last of its kind.
"We know that we have a huge following in that space, and we're very well positioned, so we want to absolutely leverage on that. But also there's a very loyal car parc out there that wants that V8, so we're going to commit to delivering that."
Nissan is yet to announce when the final Y62 Patrols will be produced, but Humberstone said the brand is working to have enough stock to last until the Y63's arrival – or even later.
"No, no," he said when asked if there will be a gap between old and new models.
"We are going to try and manage that as smoothly and efficiently as we can. In fact, I'm working very hard on what can I anticipate and what can I delay to have that.
"We don't want to have any sort of gaps in between them, and we'll mitigate that as best as we can. In fact, I almost want to link them and weave them together if I can."
Australia will be the first right-hand-drive market for the new Y63 Patrol, but the first examples with the steering wheel on our side are not expected to roll off the production line until 2026.
The official timing for the start of orders in Australia is late 2026, with the first deliveries expected shortly after – likely in late 2026 or early 2027.
However, as reported by Drive in recent days, Humberstone is looking to shorten the two-year delay, and get the new model here sooner.
"I think we're looking to see what we can do about that [timing]. There's massive demand on the left-hand drive [version], a very strong order bank. We're doing our level best to accelerate that [Australian launch].
"But we're still going to be the first right-hand-drive in the world to get it."
If the date isn't moved, it would make the Y62 Patrol – unveiled in early 2010 and launched in Australia in late 2012 – old enough to apply for an Australian learner driver's licence by the time its successor arrives.
It occurred through the local development and installation of a new screen, rather than developing a right-hand-drive version of a newer, smartphone connectivity-equipped dashboard available in left-hand-drive markets for years.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
