- Nissan’s teased sedans are not the models seen in recently shared patent drawings.
- The car shown in patents is the China-only EVO Concept from the Beijing show.
- Nissan teased the real Sentra earlier in low-light renders with few details revealed.
Despite the mountain of challenges it’s been climbing lately, some of them more like drawn-out uphill crawls, Nissan still has a healthy batch of new models in development for both North American and international markets. Among them is a new iteration of the Sentra, but don’t be fooled by the patent images making the rounds online. The car in those sketches? It’s not what most people think.
Also: All The New Nissan Models Arriving By 2027, From Sentra To Frontier
First spotted by Phillipine’s Top Gear, the images show what looks like a compact or mid-size sedan, which naturally sparked speculation whether the sketches reveal the upcoming Sentra or a future Altima. But a little digging into Nissan’s concept catalog clears up the confusion.
Not the Sentra or Altima You’re Looking For
What’s in those images is actually the EVO Concept, a hybrid sedan built specifically for the Chinese market. It was showcased in April of 2024 at the Beijing Auto Show, alongside three other New Energy Vehicle (NEV) studies, the EPOCH sedan, and the EPIC and ERA SUVs.
A quick visual comparison confirms the match. The overall silhouette lines up perfectly, and key design details, inducing the slim LED taillight strip and the angled LED accents on the headlights, are straight from the Chinese study. While some might argue the headlights look slightly larger in the sketches, that’s just a typical quirk of patent drawings. They’re not meant to flatter, just to outline. The fact that the patents were filed in China further supports the link.
WIPO
From what we understand, a production version of this sedan is currently in the works through one of Nissan’s Chinese joint ventures, similar to how the N7 all-electric sedan came together with partner Dongfeng, based on their existing eπ 007 model. Since that car was recently approved for global distribution (just not in North America), there’s always a chance the same could happen with the production version of the hybrid EVO seen here.
Sentra is Still in the Works
As for the real next-gen Sentra and Altima, Nissan gave us a small preview earlier this year, well, at least for the former. During a product presentation, the Sentra appeared briefly as part of a broader lineup tease. The car was shown in low-light renders with key design elements intentionally obscured, revealing just enough to spark speculation without giving too much away.
The Altima, on the other hand, may not be so lucky. According to a recent report, Nissan is planning to drop both the Altima and the Versa after 2025, potentially leaving the Sentra as the last sedan standing in the North American lineup.
So yes, Nissan has a sedan coming for America, or at least, that’s the plan unless something catastrophic derails it, which, to be honest, wouldn’t be entirely shocking at this point. But this isn’t one of them. The real one is depicted below and is expected to enter production by 2027.
