Honda Cars India yesterday, launched the much-awaited Mobilio that now competes with the existing Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and similar players in the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment in India. Reports suggest that Honda has already received 5,800 bookings for the car since pre-bookings began on July 8. With the demand expected to increase, it is likely that the waiting period for the Mobilio might also extend from two to five months.
With the launch of the Amaze and the fourth-generation City, Honda has already tasted success in the Indian market and now plans to replicate this success with the Mobilio as well. The company's aim is to expand its volumes in the country and follow the strategy to enter new segments. According to IHS Automotive, the sales of multi-purpose vehicles in India are expected to nearly double from 2011 to more than one million by 2021. Most manufacturers have considered this and not lagging behind, Honda has also entered this category, with the Mobilio being the first MPV.
Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Honda's Managing Officer, said, "The Mobilio has already enjoyed a successful run in Indonesia. I am confident the Mobilio will repeat this success in the Indian market as well."
Ever since its launch in Indonesia, Honda has sold 46,000 Mobilios in that country and where it competes with the Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia cars. This figure might seem to be a large number from the Indian perspective, but Indonesia is a well-established market for multi-purpose vehicles, while on the other hand the segment currently accounts for only a fraction of car sales in India. In comparison, the MPV category accounted for more than half the 1.23 million cars sold in Indonesia last year. However, this situation is expected to change in the future with the demand for MPVs increasing rapidly in the Indian car market.
It is a tough challenge for Honda to timely deliver the Mobilio to prospective buyers especially when the carmaker is still catering to the good demand of the City and the Amaze. However, with three production facilities in India the automaker should be able to go beyond the capacity constraint to reduce the waiting period for the cars.
Click here to check out our first drive of the Honda Mobilio.
Source: Business-Standard
