The Nissan Evalia, also known as Nissan NV200 globally, has found a new manufacturer for rebadging and this time it is the American automaker, Chevrolet. The Detroit based automaker is now entering the small commercial van segment in its home market with the new Chevrolet City Express. The Nissan NV200 gets the Chevrolet golden bowtie placed on the signature twin-slat Chevrolet grille with, revised bumpers, new headlamps and a fresh set of alloy wheels. The updates look quite upmarket than the simplistic styling elements of the standard Nissan Evalia offered in India.
Rebadging of vehicles is a new convenient way taken by the manufacturers to add on a new product to their portfolio while keeping the costs in check, as there is minimal involvement of time and money in the rebadging process compared to the conventional process of manufacturing a vehicle from the ground up. Ashok Leyland, commercial vehicle maker in India, has also taken a similar strategy of rebadging the Nissan Evalia for commercial purpose, which is expected to launch in the coming weeks.
According to Chevrolet, there has been a rising demand for a commercial small van and the introduction of the Chevrolet City Express would fulfil the needs of their commercial customers. The City Express will be made in Nissan’s facility and will be sold by GM through their Chevrolet dealers, exclusively in the U.S. and Canada, starting from next year. The Chevrolet City Express will be offered with the same 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol motor, coupled to a CVT automatic transmission.
