Taking on the likes of Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga and General Motors' Enjoy Japanese premium car maker Honda on Wednesday launched launched 'Mobilio', its first Multi-purpose Vehicle (MPV) segment in India.
The MPV is priced competitively between Rs 6.49 lakh and Rs 10.86 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) so that the company reaches total annual sales of three lakh units by 2017. Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga is priced between Rs 5.8 lakh and Rs 8.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). “Mobilio is already a success in Indonesia, selling 46,000 units since its launch in January capturing 23 per cent of market share in the segment. We expect the same success in India and will try to sell as many units as we can here,” said Honda Motor Company Managing Officer Yoshiyuki Matsumoto while explaining company’s plan behind launching Mobilio.
“Honda has set a target of selling six million units globally by March 2017, out of which 1.2 million will come from the Asia Oceania region. HCIl will account for 25 per cent of the region's sale,” he added. Mobilio has been developed at Honda's R&D facility in Bangkok exclusively for the Asian markets keeping in mind needs of Indian and Indonesian customers.
Bullish on the new model, Honda Cars India ltd (HCIl) President & CEO Hironori Kanayama said: “The launch of Honda Mobilio follows the success of Honda Amaze and the all new City which led our exceptional growth of 83 per cent in the previous financial year.”
“The company is progressing well to achieve its target of achieving annual sales of three lakh units by 2017,” he added. During the fiscal 2013-14, Honda Cars India reported 83 per cent increase in sales at 1,34,339 units as against 73,483 units during the previous year. HCIl had earlier this year launched an all-new version of its mid-sized sedan City. The company's other models include compact sedan Amaze and hatchback Brio. The Honda Amaze, introduced in April last year, was the company's first diesel offering in India.