With the commencement of festive season, which would run till the year end, almost every auto major is coming up with new launches and facelifts. After the hyped launch of Nissan Terrano, the auto maker announced the arrival of yet another new car in the market, the facelifted Evalia with a few upgrades so as to lure Indian buyers. Even after being present in the market for more than a year, this four-wheeler has been unable to build an impact on customers. The company has been able to sell just 1600 units of Evalia until now, which is quite low when taking segment sales into consideration.
The firm announced a cut down of Rs. 1.15 lakh in its price, however, it did not help in increasing sales. However, this was done so as to clear the stock and make way for the new Evalia. At present, the MPV is sold at an ex-showroom price of around Rs. 8 lakh. The upgraded version comes after studying, researching and analysing customer feedback and implementing required changes. The additional features of the facelift version include sliding windows on the rear and captain seats. It would also include a full fledged glove box in the front and fitted air conditioner vents for the second row. The Nissan Evalia enjoys the position of being the only vehicle to possess sliding doors in its segment.
There have been no changes in the technical specifications of the MPV, it is still powered by 1.5-litre K9K engine producing 85 bhp of peak power and 200 Nm of torque. It is equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox that transmits power to the front wheels. Notably, the same powertrain has been equipped in Nissan Micra, Sunny and Terrano. Like always, the company has priced this upgraded version strategically so that it benefits the sales. The firm is known for its aggressive pricing strategy and Nissan Evalia leaves no doubt as well. The latest upgrade comes in a new top-spec XV S variant for Rs. 10.55 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) and costs around Rs. 30, 000 more than the XV variant.
It must be noted that Nissan Evalia and Ashok Leyland Stile have been manufactured from the same assembly line. The facelift has occurred within a week after the launch of its partner, Ashok Leyland's Stile. When questioned if the two will work against each other or not, the officials informed that Ashok Leyland Stile has set the target of capturing the taxi market. On the other hand, Nissan Evalia is a premium model with attractive features targeted towards personal use. Even after possessing considerable amount of space and a reasonable feature, the MPV has not been able to create the expected presence in the market. However, the launch of the facelift version may help uplift the sales of this car in the highly competitive market of today's times. The craze for utility vehicles has certainly grown and it would be interesting to watch this MPV fight against the likes of Toyota Innova, Chevrolet Tavera and Tata Aria.
Industry experts are of a view that Nissan Evalia, first launched in September 2012 has now undergone a facelift, in order to boost sales in this festive season. Interestingly, Nissan Motor India Private Limited started its operation in the domestic market in 2005 and has churned out successful models like Nissan Sunny, Micra, X-Trail and the latest being the highly awaited Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Terrano. Nissan has been constantly into joint ventures with Renault and Ashok Leyland.
