This week in America, there’s been chatter of a reintroduction of the Nissan GT-R flagship sports car, which has people very excited. But things are very different in the Japanese domestic market, which still respects the GT-R, but has to share the flagship moniker with a hyper-luxurious minivan called the Nissan Elgrand that’s due to get a major update this year.
Nissan
Nissan Motor Corporation is a Japanese automaker founded in 1933 and the parent automaker of Infiniti and formerly Datsun. Nissan produces a wide variety of mass-market vehicles, including popular SUVs like the Rogue, sedans like the Sentra, and trucks like the Nissan Frontier, but is also responsible for iconic sports cars like the Nissan Z and GT-R. Since 1999, Nissan has been part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance (the name changed when Mitsubishi joined in 2016).
- Founded
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26 December 1933
- Headquarters
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Nishi-ku, Yokohama
- Current CEO
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Ivan Espinosa (as of 1 April, 2025)
- Founder
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Yoshisuke Aikawa
- Owned By
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Publicly Traded
What This New Concept Will Compete With
The U.S. market sadly misses out on the very competitive Japanese and Chinese luxury van segments (at least for now), and it’s a shame. The prime competitor to the Elgrand in Japan would be the similarly sized Toyota Alphard minivan. The new Elgrand was previewed in 2023 by the Hyper Tourer Concept van, which, funnily enough, premiered alongside a concept previewing a potential future GT-R, so both flagship priorities of performance and luxury were represented on stage.
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Early shadowy teasers of the new Nissan Elgrand show a pared-down design approach that’s far less radical than the concept, but still more dramatic than anything the Elgrand has looked like before. It’ll feature massive sweeping DRLs from edge to edge up front, with a similar wide taillight pattern. The front looks like a slightly more upscale take on the recent Murano and Leaf design updates. The roof at the rear of the new van also features a very squared-off spoiler edge, likely for aero efficiency improvement.
A Hybrid Has Already Been Confirmed Ahead Of Next Year’s Reveal
No interior details have been teased yet, but expect it to be very nice inside. Nissan has already confirmed at least one version of the van will be powered by its next-generation hybrid e-power setup. It should be similar to what’s coming to the U.S. Rogue SUV around the same period. We expect a small but substantial battery charged by an efficient 1.5-liter gas engine generator, but with the wheels driven by an electric motor.
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The teasers likely preview a model that will ultimately debut at the upcoming Japan Mobility Show this summer (October 30-November 9) for production in fiscal year 2026, or around the third quarter of 2025.
In addition, Nissan is working on a Frontier PHEV, but like the van above, this isn’t likely to come to America, at least not yet.
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