2026 Nissan Elgrand: The proper Alphard challenger that PH won't get

The news surrounding Nissan as of late just hasn’t been great. Sales declines (particularly in China, the USA, and even Southeast Asia), corporate issues (beyond Ghosn), financial woes, and a failure to come to an agreement with a partner have put a strain on one of Japan’s largest and proudest automakers. They’re now busy reworking their strategy, rethinking their manufacturing bases, and why they’ve embarked on major cost-cutting measures like the cancellation of the NISMO Festival this year.

Despite the Philippine market effectively doing the heavy lifting for Nissan’s sales in Southeast Asia, Nissan didn’t opt to send any press to the Japan Mobility Show. The inside talk is that there’s nothing relevant to the Philippine market at JMS, and so it was seen as not worth it to bring media to JMS.

Judging by what we saw in Tokyo, I would like to strongly disagree. Because JMS was the launch pad for the near-production version of the 2023 Hyper Tourer concept that could be very relevant to the Philippine market: the next-generation Nissan Elgrand.

The Nissan Elgrand has been around the Japanese market since 1997 as their premium minivan that combines space, luxury, and so much more. The model shown at JMS 2025 is the fourth generation overall, and it takes everything to a new level.

The design, for instance, appears more concept car rather than a production car. Nissan calls it “Timeless Japanese Futurism,” and they say it reimagines and combines the latest techniques, materials, and technology with traditional Japanese concepts of craftsmanship and aesthetics. For instance, the front is quite intricate and futuristic, the two-tone color is unusual but apt, while Nissan even tried to break away from the traditional rear profile of the minivan with taper on the rear bumper and how the roof meets the rear at a rather sharp angle.

Nissan says they designed the cabin to provide “a private lounge-like atmosphere” and where the passengers in the middle row can enjoy the “comfort of zero gravity captain’s chairs” with leg rests. Nissan took inspiration from Kumiko-inspired patterns (as with the front) on the door and seat trims, the use of “TailorFit” leather, and dual 14.3-inch integrated displays on the seatbacks (similar to the Patrol). Nissan says the vehicle will be available with a Bose 22-speaker system, among other niceties.

The all-new Elgrand will be powered by a new third-generation e-Power hybrid system built around a new turbo 1.5L gasoline engine and an all-electric e-4orce 4WD system. Nissan gave the rear motor the torque modulation function to reduce pitching when the vehicle is accelerating and decelerating for a smoother ride. The Elgrand also has intelligent suspension for a smooth ride.

As expected, the Elgrand will get a new ProPilot driver assist system, which will have hands-free driving operation below 50 km/h, as well as for highway driving and lane change.

Sounds interesting, right? The problem is Nissan seems to be implying that they won’t even bother offering the Elgrand in the Philippines, despite all the signs in front of them that a premium minivan from another established manufacturer can really boost their sales in the market. As evidenced by the success of the Toyota Alphard (its direct rival), the Lexus LM, the Kia Carnival, the Toyota Hiace Super Grandia, and the many new players from China, there really is a strong market for an Elgrand, yet Nissan still won’t make it with the steering wheel on the left side for us.

It's so clear that this has the potential to sell very well in the Philippines. Is Nissan seeing something we’re not in order to justify keeping Elgrand (and other models like Serena e-Power) out of reach of PH customers?