MUMBAI: Ashok Leyland plans to roll out this month a multi-utility van named Stile and a 13-seater people mover called Dost Express, two uniquely positioned products that will have no direct competition from the market leader Maruti Suzuki and will help the manufacturer build its light commercial vehicle portfolio in the country.

The seven-eight seater Stile is expected to be priced at Rs 7.5-9 lakh and targeted at the fleet and taxi operators in major cities, a person familiar with the company's plans said, adding that the Dost Express, which is meant for rural areas, could cost about Rs 6 lakh.

The company has learnt from the failure of its sibling Nissan's Evalia and packed Stile with features such as dual air-conditioning (with rear AC vents), rear window, glove box and bucket seats, among others.

The company's officials claim that Stile, powered by Renault's 1.5 litre K9K engine and delivering a mileage of 19 km per litre, could be the most fuel efficient multi-utility vehicle in the country.

Admitting that the van segment had not taken off in India, Nitin Seth, Ashok Leyland's executive director of light commercial vehicles and defence businesses, said, "Stile is not a vehicle aimed at personal buyers; it is aimed at the value seeker fleet operator. In India, people want a balanced vehicle, with focus on functionality of fuel efficiency and cost of running than on the performance of the car, and Stile intends to deliver that."

Targeting more than 5,000 taxi unions and several thousand fleet operators across the country, Ashok Leyland will be organising at least 25,000 test drives a month in more than 100 cities. "With fuel prices rising, a taxi guy's fare is not going up. With a more fuel efficient vehicle, he can earn more. From his passenger's perspective, the ingress and egress is comfortable due to monocoque architecture, and the rear window, dual AC and bigger wheels offer a more comfortable ride," Seth added.

The Stile will be sold across 130 light commercial vehicle outlets in the northern, southern and western parts of the country while the company is still establishing its network in the east.

Ashok Leyland is positioning the Stile as a van while Nissan calls the Evalia a multi-utility vehicle. The company expects incremental sales of 1,000-1,500 units a month after the launch of these two vehicles, Seth said.

The van segment grew marginally by 1.08% in 2012-13, with sales of 2.37 lakh units. In the first five months of the current fiscal, however, sales dropped 6.24% compared with the year-ago period to 84,263 units.

Maruti Suzuki is the market leader in the segment with Eeco and Omni vans, followed by Tata Motors' Ace Magic and Venture vans. Sales of Ashok Leyland's light commercial vehicles have fallen over 14% to 11,036 units in April-August compared with the year-ago period. However, its mini truck Dost has been a runaway success, with sales of over 55,000 in the first year and a half of its launch

 

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com