Honda’s first-ever MPV in India, the Mobilio is quite a car. It is spacious, handles well and with the diesel is frugal as well. Somehow, unlike its competitor, the Maruti Ertiga, it never took off despite both being slow starters. After the introduction of the BR-V, the Mobilio got side-lined. Now, the car hasn’t fared into the monthly sales numbers for February sparking speculations of its end.
The Mobilio has been around for about three years after its introduction in 2014 and has been able to sell more than 40,000 cars overall. As per reports, the production of the MPV has been halted in favour of the BR-V and all of the stocks have been cleared gradually. With the Mobilio now due for its mid-life update, there are questions if it will be continued.
The Mobilio was built by the research and development division in Thailand and was developed specifically for the South Asian markets. The Mobilio facelift looks almost like the Honda BR-V and hence, if brought to India, might eat up into the sliding numbers of the BR-V. Also, with such low volumes, the investment needed in updating the cars should also make economic sense for the Japanese car maker. Also, if the price of the car has to go up with the updates, the sales numbers will not be anywhere close to what Honda might want.
Honda has said that it will take them a month or two to evaluate all the options and take a decision on the Mobilio’s future. While we have our fingers crossed, the Mobilio might be headed into the horizon.
