New Van To Rival Urbania, Winger Spied Testing

Vans have been some of the most important types of vehicles in CV segment and somewhat in the PV segment as well. Right now, there are a few vans on sale in India with Force Motors and Tata Motors being the primary players. Now, there seems to be a third player emerging in the premium MPV space and first set of spy shots confirm that. Let’s take a closer look.

New Van Spied Testing

An interesting set of spy shots from automotive enthusiast Elavarasan show a test mule of an unreleased van. This van is fully camouflaged and is of the premium type and not a cheap and at the fag end of commercial vans that you usually see. So, this puts in the immediate rivalry of Force Urbania and Tata Winger.

Both these vans have an arch rivalry between them, but are quite different to each other. A third player with their ethos bang in the middle, might tip the balance in this segment. That’s exactly what this van spied testing, aims for. It was fully camouflaged, bearing Red registration plates from Hosur RTO in Tamil Nadu.

This van is clearly of premium type as it comes with stuck glass which could allow for fully air conditioned cabins. It also gets a sliding door on the left side and two regular doors for driver and co-driver. Overall execution of body and rear tail lights are of premium types. Rear horizontally laid out single-piece windshields is a standout element, while Winger and Urbania have split vertical type rear windshields.

Where size is concerned, it doesn’t seem to be as big as Force Urbania, but it might be of a similar size as Tata Winger. Unlike Winger, this new van spied testing, has RWD layout with a visible rear differential along with rear leaf-spring suspension. It appears to bear a ladder-frame construction, but can’t be said for sure.

Is it Ashok Leyland Dost Xpress?

Looking at this new Van spied testing in India, a lot of fingers point towards it being a production-spec version of Ashok Leyland Bada Dost Xpress concept showcased at 2023 Auto Expo. That also had stuck glass, sliding doors, single-piece horizontal rear windshield and other elements.

Ashok Leyland has multiple testing facilities in Tamil Nadu including a dedicated testing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Connecting the dots, one could say that this new Van spied testing might be a production-spec version of Ashok Leyland Dost Xpress concept, showcased at 2023 Auto Expo to rival Force Urbania and Tata Winger. More details will be revealed in the future.