Spied: Next-gen Nissan Serena C28 spotted testing in Thailand though it was never offered there!

Last month, Edaran Tan Chong Motors (ETCM) introduced the new 2022 Nissan Serena S-Hybrid facelift and despite the nip and tuck outside, the C27 generation has been on sale since 2016.

The Serena was once the most popular MPV in Japan but it is clearly showing its age as it slipped in sales. Rivals like the Toyota Noah/Voxy and Honda Stepwgn have been given an all-new generation in 2022 so when will Nissan step up its long-running MPV?

Perhaps it will be soon as this spyshot from Thai publication, Car2Day attests. According to them, the camouflaged Serena, likely to be given the codename C28, was spotted around Sukhumvit bearing the Thai test car registration plates.

Though all fingers are pointing to the next generation, the overall shape remains the same boxy look as the current C27. While being almost completely covered, we can see hints that the next-gen Serena could feature LED taillights and there is also a possibility for the Serena script to be emblazoned across the tailgate.

Interestingly, the Serena is never offered officially in Thailand despite this test unit being spotted in the Kingdom. Instead, the Serena is only offered for sale via grey imports so there might be a possibility this unit is only used for internal testing.

This wasn’t the first time the next-gen Serena was spotted in a market that it was never offered. Spyshots of one were seen in Colorado back in June though the American media called it the next-gen Nissan NV200, also known as the NV200 Vanette here.

The current C27 Serena is only offered in a few markets including Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore which offers the Nissan MPV with the e-Power hybrid unit or the S-Hybrid MHEV unit.

The e-Power unit combines a 1.2-litre 3-pot with an AC motor (136 PS/320 Nm) while the S-Hybrid variants are powered by a 2.0-litre unit (150 PS/200 Nm). These engines are likely to be carried over into the C28 Serena with some power updates.

Also read: Nissan Note e-Power: We drove Malaysia's most fuel-efficient car that you can't buy (yet); 2.8L/100km

Keeping up with its all-new rivals, the next-gen Serena could be offering the latest generation of ProPilot ADAS suite, dubbed ProPilot 2.0 which offers Tesla Autopilot-like features including hands-off highway driving and hands-on guided lane changing.

Also read: 2022 (C28) Nissan Serena to get updated e-Power and ProPilot 2.0

The all-new Serena could be making its debut in Japan around September 2022 but don’t expect the C28 Serena to make it to Malaysia so soon. Just a quick recap, the newly launched (locally-assembled, CKD) Serena S-Hybrid facelift is available in two variants, Highway Star (from RM 149,888) and Premium Highway Star (from RM 162,888).

Also read: New 2022 Nissan Serena facelift launched in Malaysia, now with ADAS, priced from RM 150k