After the blockbuster new City sedan’s instant success after its launch in January, Honda Cars India is gearing up for its next big launch this year, in the form of the Mobilio MPV. The Honda Mobilio is a much awaited vehicle in India, which was showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo in February. The Mobilio is expected to launch in the month of July this year.
Honda cars India has still not revealed anything regarding the official launch dates of the Mobilio MPV. However, the company had already commenced the trial production of new MPV at its Greater Noida manufacturing facility. Now, reports have confirmed that company has commenced the production of the first batch of the Mobilio at its Noida car plant and pictures of the same have been splashed on the internet.
Considering the fact that the car manufacturers usually take about three months to launch a car model from the time it starts producing the first batch of the car, it can be safely said that Honda India will launch the Mobilio in July.
A Honda spokesperson has also confirmed the fact that the Mobilio will be produced at the Greater Noida plant only, along with other car models from the Japanese manufacturer. The spokesperson also said that Honda is currently manufacturing the Amaze compact sedan at the new Tapukara plant, which is not churning any other models right now. On the other hand, the Noida plant is manufacturing the Amaze, the new City and other models.
The Mobilio is the third Honda car to be utilizing the versatile platform of the Brio hatchback, as the Amaze is also built on the same platform. This vehicle will also borrow the same 1.5 liter i-DTEC, Earth Dreams diesel engine that runs the City and the Amaze and brought Honda the amazing overnight success. The Mobilio petrol version will house a 1.2 liter i-VTEC petrol engine, while the new City’s 1.5 liter i-VTEC petrol mill is also speculated for the Mobilio. The petrol and diesel engines will be mated to a 5 speed manual transmission gearbox as standard.
The Honda Mobilio 7-seater MPV has was already launched in Indonesia in early 2014. The vehicle’s Indian launch is expected to bring its maker similar success to that of the Amaze and new City and shot up Honda’s market shares in India.
The Mobilio is Honda’s MPV in India and post its launch it lock its horns with the Maruti Ertiga, Enjoy, Mahindra Xylo and segment leader Toyota Innova. The Mobilio’s arch rival will be the Ertiga, while it might also damage the demands for the lower variants of the Innova which is actually a notch higher.
As per speculations, the Honda Mobilio would have a starting price under Rs. 6.5 lakhs, which if true would make it an attractive deal. The very popular Ertiga’s pricing is hard to beat, but the Mobilio has edge over it when performance, premium styling and features are concerned.
