Renault Lodgy likely; Nissan Evalia badge engineering unlikely

Evalia not to undergo badge engineering for Renault – and that means Renault Lodgy is a possible launch!

The Ashok Leyland Stile is a badge engineered version of the Nissan Evalia. A couple of weeks ago, a report on one of India’s leading newspapers from the east hinted that Renault India could borrow the Evalia for a badge engineered MPV of their own. This report also meant that the Renault Lodgy MPV might be shelved for the Indian car market, a prospect that doesn’t seem too exciting, at a time when most badge engineered products have failed to set the sales charts afire.

Just when you thought that Renault would once again badge engineer a Nissan product, word coming out from the sidelines of the facelifted Evalia’s launch hints that Nissan India wouldn’t share anymore of its current line up with Renault India. This development also means that next year’s Auto Expo could be the place when the Renault Lodgy, a low cost MPV based on the second generation Logan’s platform, could be showcased. The 7 seat Lodgy’s prime competitors are the Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo.

If Renault can price the Lodgy competitively in the Indian car market, the MPV could become the next big sales spinner for the French car brand, after the swift selling Duster SUV. The Lodgy is powered by a 1.5 liter K9K turbo diesel engine that’s paired to a five speed manual gearbox. Renault also offers the Lodgy with a 1.6 liter petrol engine, a unit that’s also found on the Duster SUV. High end versions of the Lodgy come with twin airbags and ABS+EBD as standard.

The Lodgy is a 7 seat MPV that measures close to 4.5 meters in length, a dimension that puts it squarely in the sights of the Innova-Xylo-Evalia brigade. With this length, seating capacity, a proven turbo diesel engine and a decent set of features and creature comforts, the Lodgy seems to tick all the right boxes that a people mover needs to, to sell in India. The ball therefore, is in Renault India’s court, as the pricing is the all-important element that can make or break a product in the highly price sensitive Indian car market.

Source