Official: Honda Mobilio to be launched next month

It’s official now that Honda Cars India (HCI) will be introducing the new Honda Mobilio multi-purpose vehicle in India in the second half of July 2014. This new seven-seater has been developed specially for Asian countries like India. The Honda Mobilio is based on the Brio hatchback platform, and will be rolling out from Honda’s production facility in Greater Noida. 

Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Sales spoke to ZigWheels about the Honda Mobilio project recently, saying, “The Honda Mobilio is our first MPV in India, but Honda has a strong MPV legacy globally with the likes of Odyssey, Freed, and Stepwagon.” He said that the company utilised this vast experience and learning while developing the Honda Mobilio.

The MPV has an overall length of 4.4-metres and is expected to be more spacious than its competitor - Maruti Ertiga. Moreover, the Honda Mobilio also claims to have the best-in-class ground clearance of 185mm. According to Sen the company aims to offers better interior space and comfortable third-row seating in the Honda Mobilio than competition. In spite of the spacious cabin the MPV is not so huge, and would be easy to park.

This Maruti Ertiga challenger will be offered with the 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines which currently do the duty on the Honda City, but in different state of tune. The engines will be paired with 5-speed manual transmission, and the petrol engine will also have the option of an automatic CVT box.

Due to its unique size and sporty design, the Honda Mobilio is expected to be positioned between the Ertiga and segment leader Toyota Innova. The launch of this new car would therefore create a new sub-category in the MPV segment of India. The Honda Mobilio is estimated to be priced between Rs 7 lakh to Rs 11 lakh when it is launched next month.

Later this year HCI will be launching the all-new Honda Jazz hatchback in India. To cope with the demand the company plans to increase Honda dealer network by 35 per cent in this year. Honda Cars India currently has 172 facilities in 109 cities in its network, and hopes to increase it to 230 facilities in 150 cities.