Honda Mobilio launch by October; to bridge Ertiga, Innova price gap

  • Apr 8, 2014
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Honda to highlight Mobilio MPV's smarter design, space and segment-best fuel economy in its marketing campaign

Honda Mobilio MPV

Honda Cars India (HCI) is hoping to start a new segment with the Mobilio, and for lack of a better term, very reluctantly calls the seven-seater a MPV. Sources close to the project have confirmed that the company is currently preparing to launch the new car in India by October this year; in time to cash on the festive season. Recently some of the top executive from HCI got to see a closer-to-production version of the Mobilio and were impressed by its trendy interiors and exterior design. The sources say that although people will compare the new Honda to Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, in reality the Mobilio has a completely different character and hence will be positioned uniquely. 

Honda Mobilio interior dashboard


The Mobilio has been developed exclusively for the Asian markets, based on the Brio hatchback platform and will be produced at HCI’s Greater Noida facility. It’s a practical solution for large Indian families, with three rows of seating which can accommodate 7 people. Being 4.4 metres long the Mobilio is more spacious than the Ertiga, and also boasts of the best-in-class ground clearance of 185mm. The ‘MPV’ will sport the frugal 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine which also powers the Honda City and Amaze sedans, but in different state of tune, and again claimed to offer segment-best fuel efficiency. One of our concerns is that the Honda diesel unit in the City doesn’t feel very spirited, and now when tuned for more efficiency and bolted on a seven-seater might run out of breath even sooner. 

Honda Mobilio logo

In terms of positioning, Honda is trying to finding a sweet spot between the Ertiga and segment leader Toyota Innova for their debut MPV for India. In the marketing campaign the company will be highlighting Mobilio’s design and styling, which tries to breaks away from the bulk and boxy design most other Indian MPVs are associated with. That brings us to our other worry. Will Honda price the Mobilio above the Ertiga and just below the Innova? The Ertiga retails between Rs 6.44 lakh to Rs 9 lakh, while the Innova ranges between Rs 12.93 lakh to 15.66 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai). We would hate to see the company do a similar blunder as it did years ago by pricing the Jazz over ambitiously. We hope Honda proves us wrong.

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