Banking on the huge success of the NV200, Nissan is taking its globally popular van to the next level. Nissan is reportedly developing an EV version of the Evalia (also branded NV200) for European countries.
Nissan has already developed e-NV200 panel van which is expected to be the future of delivery vans all across globe.
The e-NV200 panel van combines the technology of the Nissan Leaf with the functionality of the NV200 van. This all-electric compact van delivers the same performance on a single charge as the Nissan Leaf. Currently, FedEX is testing the e-NV200 panel van as their future mobility vehicle.
However, the e-NV200 panel van is still a commercial vehicle at the end of the day. It cannot please families with its commercial-minded design. Thus, Nissan will implement the Nissan Leaf technology in the sever seater version of NV200, popularly known as the Evalia.
Expected to be called 'Nissan Evalia Electric', the sever seater van will be powered by Nissan Leaf’s electric motor which delivers 80 kw from its 24-kWh battery. Nissan claims that the Evalia Electric can be recharged to 80% capacity in 30 minutes from a quick charger.
The Nissan Evalia Electric will be available in showrooms all across Europe from next year
While Nissan India has a daunting task of selling the Evalia in India to masses who are a bit ‘van averse’, we doubt that the Evalia Electric has any future on Indian shores. The Indian automobile market has not matured enough to accept the EV as their daily drive. There is no proper infrastructure to support EVs on the Indian streets.
The Indian government may have earmarked investment of Rs 23,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore to address key issues like high cost of infrastructure, R&D and commissioning pilot projects but the plan is far from materialization. Only when this massive electrification bears the required result can we expect EVs to head to India.
