Melbourne engineering firm Premcar is scaling up its operations as it prepares to start production on the second-generation Nissan Navara Warrior and, soon after, Patrol Warrior.
The auto engineering specialist is on a recruitment drive to find 35 staff to add to its team, “to accommodate the final development and production of a new Nissan vehicle model, which is a co-development between Premcar and the global automaker”.
Premcar’s new hires will be based at its 6300 square metre production facility in the Melbourne suburb of Epping. The company established the manufacturing and assembly centre for the Navara N-Trek Warrior 4×4 pick-up.
Premcar re-engineered about 1400 units of the Nissan Navara N-Trek Warrior, which battled Toyota’s similarly locally-modified HiLux Rugged X. It got a hoopless steel bullbar with light bar, suspension lift, plus new wheels and Cooper tyres.
We understand a new Navara Warrior based on the PRO-4X grade will be revealed within a few months.
“Without question I think what what PRO-4X does, is it gives us a great platform to build on,” Nissan Australia boss Stephen Lester told us earlier this year.
“The reality is, now we get an even bigger jump to start from the base… from our view, base camp starts much higher. And in already a very attractive package.”
While nothing has been confirmed officially, it’s also generally understood that a modified Patrol Warrior is next cab off the rank, giving the V8-powered Y62 a new halo variant atop the range to capitalise on its 4×4 abilities.
Premcar said the new recruits it had already taken on “boast extensive automotive manufacturing experience, with many re-joining the automotive industry after the closure of local vehicle manufacturing in the state of Victoria”.
Navara PRO-4X
“Premcar is continuing to support the development of world-class automotive skills in Australia, and more specifically, Victoria,” added Premcar engineering director Bernie Quinn.
“Victoria is home to generations of world-class engineering skills and to have this level of experience and knowledge within our team puts Premcar further ahead as a specialist automotive supplier.”
The company now known as Premcar was stablished by Prodrive UK in 1996, and was formerly known as Tickford Vehicle Engineering. The current owners took ownership in 2012 at which point the business name changed its name.
