Nissan’s performance arm has opened its first NISMO Performance Center outside Japan, and it sits inside a dealership in suburban Melbourne. Nissan announced the opening on October 22, 2026. For owners of R32, R33 and R34 Skyline GT-Rs, it puts factory restoration help in their own country.
Specifically, the center lives at Ferntree Gully Nissan in Victoria. It gives Australian customers a direct line to NISMO’s Omori Factory in Japan, along with genuine performance and heritage parts. On top of that, it brings factory-certified technicians that NISMO calls Meisters.
More than 300 Nissan and NISMO enthusiasts turned up for the opening, according to Nissan. The company also says this is only the start, with more Australian centers planned from 2027.
What the NISMO Performance Center offers
Nissan’s announcement lists three main things. First, there are advanced vehicle restoration programs. Second, the center sells genuine NISMO performance and heritage parts. Third, factory-certified NISMO Meisters support customers and their cars.
Yutaka Sanada, president and CEO of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing and the global head of the NISMO brand, framed it as a big step. “The opening of the first NISMO Performance Center outside Japan is an important milestone in our global expansion,” he said in the release.
According to CarExpert, the address is 1000 Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully. Nissan Australia aftersales director Michael Hill described it to the outlet as “a shop-within-a-shop concept.” CarExpert adds that customers can also order performance engine builds from a set menu.
Why the R32, R33 and R34 come first
CarExpert reports that the restoration programs will initially focus on three Skyline GT-R generations: the R32, R33 and R34. Similarly, Nissan’s own May release points the same way. It says NISMO’s restoration strategy from December 2025 starts with those three cars, with more vehicles and regional programs to follow.
After all, Australia has a special tie to these cars. CarExpert notes that the R32 GT-R won the Bathurst 1000 in 1991 and 1992. Even so, Nissan Australia imported only 100 R32s when they were new, according to the same report.
Nissan has its own numbers on that. Carsales reports that Nissan estimates 7% of R32 GT-R production ended up in Australia, along with 20% of R33s and 36% of R34s. In other words, plenty of older GT-Rs already live there, and they all need parts and know-how.
Meanwhile, heritage parts are a big part of the pitch. According to CarExpert, some of them will be sold only through the performance centers. Carsales adds that NISMO’s heritage catalog runs from engine blocks down to trim clips.
Where the plan came from
The center didn’t appear out of nowhere. On May 22, 2026, NISMO and Nissan Oceania confirmed a multi-phase plan to grow the brand in Australia, according to a Nissan release from Sydney. At that point, the first center was targeted for Ferntree Gully in the second half of 2026.
Sanada made that announcement during a visit to Sydney, ahead of the GT-R Festival that weekend. “Australia is a natural priority because of its mature performance culture,” he said in the May release.
Still, the bigger targets are global. Carsales reports that NISMO wants to grow its sales from 100,000 to 150,000 units. It also plans to lift the performance division’s share of sales from 40% to 60% by 2028.
A short NISMO history
NISMO itself goes back to 1984, when Nissan founded it as Nissan Motorsport International, according to the May release. Nissan’s racing activities date even further, to 1936. Then, in 2022, Nissan merged NISMO with its customizing arm, AUTECH, to form Nissan Motorsports & Customizing.
Today, the Omori Factory in Japan serves as NISMO’s headquarters, according to Carsales. In practice, that’s where the restoration knowledge comes from, and Nissan says the new center links Australian owners straight to it.
What comes next
Nissan’s October release says more NISMO Performance Centers will open in Australia from 2027. It adds that NISMO plans centers in other priority markets worldwide, with details to come. CarExpert reports that the next Australian sites will be in capital cities, plus Auckland in New Zealand.
Carsales goes further. It says Sydney is next, followed by locations in the Middle East, the United States and the UK. However, Nissan hasn’t confirmed dates for any of them. Later on, Carsales adds, the restoration work could widen beyond Skylines to the 200SX, Silvia and Z cars.
For now, the record is one center. It opened at Ferntree Gully Nissan, 1000 Burwood Highway, in a country where Nissan sold only 100 new R32 GT-Rs.
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