Ashok Leyland Stile discontinued from the Indian market

Ashok Leyland has finally pulled the plug on the Stile multi-utility vehicle due to low sales. The company said that they took this step because the demand of the vehicle was decreasing every month.

The Stile was a rebadged Nissan Evalia and was mainly sold to the taxi market. However, the demand in the segment didn’t increase as expected and the Stile was selling in lesser numbers than the Evalia. The Ashok Leyland was launched at Rs 7.49 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) and was powered by a 1.5-litre K9k diesel engine that was detuned to 75bhp for better fuel efficiency. Cosmetically, the Stile was almost similar to the Evalia except for a few changes on the front end of the car that featured a wider grille and bigger headlamps. On the inside, the Stile got dual-blower AC, optional captain seats and sliding doors.

Ashok Leyland will now focus only on its core business of light and heavy commercial vehicles.  However, the company also mentioned that they will re-enter the segment if they see any prospects. It is sad to see a vehicle being discontinued from the Indian market, but this will also give an opportunity to other manufacturers to rethink their strategy on selling rebadged vehicles.