New Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) Ashok Leyland Stile, that was to be launched by end of 2012 appears to have been delayed. However, as per latest reports, the company may look to launch this vehicle on July 16 this year. It is based on the Nissan Evalia platform and will be positioned below the same, with respect to pricing.
The Stile was last witnessed at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. In order to appeal to fleet operators, the vehicle would be available in fuel options of diesel and CNG, which in turn would help keeping running costs in check. It is possible that the new vehicle may get the 1.5 litre K9K diesel motor from Nissan, which produces a maximum power of 85 bhp and a peak torque of 200 Nm. For the Ashok Leyland MPV, the power output could be lowered to 70 bhp. In the Evalia, this motor is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, which may be seen in the Stile as well.
With a CNG powered dual fuel engine, the Ashok Leyland Stile would be very helpful as an urban mover and a delivery vehicle. For this most of the comforts in the interiors would be removed, in comparison to the Evalia. Though the Nissan MPV has not achieved much success in the Indian market despite being popular in other parts of the world, it remains to be seen how a lower priced version would perform in the same conditions.
Nissan Evalia has been designed keeping in mind the comforts demanded by a large Indian family. In contrast, since Stile would also be looking at fleet operators (Commercial Vehicles), many features of the Evalia could be removed. In other words, the Stile would be a rebadged, restyled and less expensive version of the Evalia. This MPV has the capability to take the MPV market to a new level.
