The Australian engineering firm responsible for production of the new off-road-focused Mitsubishi Triton Raider, as well as the upcoming Nissan Navara Warriorand potentially a new Patrol Warrior, says the fuel crisis has impacted its business – but not enough to halt operations.
The boss of Melbourne-based Premcar, Bernie Quinn, told CarExpert it had so far largely overcome setbacks from rising shipping and logistics costs linked to global spikes in diesel and petrol prices.
“We’ve had a few logistics issues generally – like getting parts that are on ships – but generally speaking we haven’t seen an effect yet, but who knows down the track,” said Mr Quinn, who founded Premcar in 2012.
“We will always find a way [but] hopefully this whole [Middle East conflict] situation ends soon.”
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Mr Quinn was speaking at the unveiling of the Mitsubishi Triton Raider, which uses suspension and steering components developed and tested by Premcar to improve off-road capability.
Mitsubishi says the Triton Raider is pitched against the Ford Ranger Tremor and Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior, and will be a permanent addition to the updated MY26 Triton lineup when it arrives in showrooms in May.
As well as the chassis upgrades, Premcar fits all the Raider’s components locally, including the wider ROH wheels, exterior badging and graphics, down to the embroidered front-seat head restraints.
The unveiling came shortly after fuel prices hit record levels across Australia, with petrol reaching nearly $2.60/litre and diesel almost $3.50/litre – prompting the federal government to halve the petrol excise and abolish the heavy vehicle road-user charge for three months from April 1.
Despite ongoing uncertainty, Mr Quinn said Premcar can handle any demand for the Triton Raider that Mitsubishi may place on the operation.
“It’s not a make the decision today, build the cars tomorrow,” he said. “We’ve got all the logistics systems and supplier agreements in place to be able to ramp up production.”
Premcar has become an integral part of the Australian automotive industry, with its first Navara Pro-4X Warrior tune – developed for Nissan Australia as a showroom model complete with a factory warranty – expanding overseas, including to South Africa.
It has also fettled the suspension across the new-generation Navara lineup launched in Australia earlier this year, helping the new-generation ute – which is based on the Triton – better suit local conditions.
A Warrior version of the new Navara has been teased by Nissan Australia, with a showroom version expected in 2026 or 2027.
Premcar also developed a Warrior version of the outgoing Y62-series Nissan Patrol, which is set to be replaced in Australia in by the new Y63 later this year. While not confirmed, a Warrior version of the Y63 Patrol is expected, and could reach showrooms in 2027.