Honda Siel cars India Ltd. is taking the Indian Automotive market very seriously Indeed and they should be doing just that, as they already have a good impression in the Indian consumers Minds. In the past, Honda’s car were all petrol powered and yet sold in great numbers despite India being a country where diesel powered cars rule. Not just that, Honda’s cars have a reputation for being reliable and also delivering high performance at the same time while also being relatively easy to maintain, so much so, that they have come to be called bullet-proof!
Honda Mobilio MPV – FrontFascia
So, whatever cars Honda Intends to launch in the future, must be developed and launched keeping this in mind, and it looks like they are doing it right. Honda is trying to Impress the Indian consumer and is now trying to reach out to a wider audience. Honda already has a Premium SUV(CR-V), a Hatchback(Brio), an entry level sedan(Amaze), a C-segment Sedan(City) and a premium sedan as well(Accord), so the only segments in which Honda does not have a presence in is, the compact SUV segment and the MPV segment. Honda will enter the Compact SUV segment by launching an SUV based on the Brio platform by 2016, but Honda’s MPV segment debut in India is very near indeed.
Honda plans to enter the highly competitive MPV segment in India, a segment which sells about 12000 units every month, and include best sellers like the Toyota Innova, and Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Honda received very good response when it unveiled the Mobilio MPV at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo held in Delhi a few months ago and immediately wanted to put it into production because of the response received, but development of the MPV took a few months time and now, finally Honda has confirmed that the Mobilio would be launched in July. As expected, Honda has dispatched Mobilio MPV at company dealerships across the country for special dealer training programs.
Honda Mobilio MPV – FrontViewThis isn’t the first MPV developed by Honda, Honda has already gained expertise in developing MPV’s by manufacturing MPV’s like the Odyssey, Freed and Stepwagon which are all being sold in international markets, and this very Know-How has been used in the development of the Mobilio too, which is being made specifically for developing markets like India.
The Diesel Brio will be powered by a 1.5 liter i-Dtec turbo-diesel engine, the very same engine powering the Honda City and Amaze Diesels and has a max power output of 100 PS and max torque output of 200 PS, also available will be a 1.5 liter i-Vtec petrol engine with a max output of 119 PS and max torque of 145 NM. While the diesel will be mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, the petrol will be available with either a CVT gearbox or a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Honda Mobilio MPV – RearViewThe Mobilio gets a conventional MPV design, but unlike other MPV’s, one look at the Mobilio is enough to get an idea that it will be spacious on the inside too because it looks HUGE, especially the last three quarters of the car. Honda has chosen to go for the conventional Honda design language on this one, but they might have gone a bit too far, as the front has ended up looking like that of the Brio’s and the rear tail-lamp arrangement looks like that of the City, but make no mistake, it isn’t bad in any way! The car on test was the top of the line diesel ‘V’ trim and had features like alloy wheels, reverse camera etc. but these may not be available on the lower trims.
Honda will increase production capacity at its plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan and the Mobilio too, in all probability will be produced at that very plant. The launch of the Mobilio is set to happen in July this year, and Honda is quite optimistic that the Mobilio too will replicate the success it had with the Amaze and the new City.
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Also see – Honda reveals new Jazz; Mobilio, Vision XS-1, NSX Concept & Accord Hybrid
Source – Motorbeam.com
