[romeomidhun]

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/51490324.cms

Seems like Honda will do the inevitable in favour of the BR-V: discontinue Mobilio in India. Recent sales figures of 3-digit monthly suggests Honda has no other way than this. Though both are based on the Brio platform, BR-V has the advantage of the SUV stance and good interiors.

Moreover, in markets like Indonesia, BR-V is becoming a super hit, and posing serious threat to the well-established models like Toyota Avanza.

[Sebring]

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[just_in]

I think honda should start following the Maruti Suzuki way of ovrlapping vehicles. MSIL does not care what car it sells as long as the buyers still end up buying a MSIL product. Discontinuing the mobilo might just force the people to look at the BR-V but considering the market share honda currently has in India I strongly feel they should adopt the product overlapping strategy. This just might work in Honda's favour than discontinuing the mobilio. Just my thought on it.

[arnabchak]

If this does happen, good riddance, I would say.

Bring on the BRV.
Mobilio was a dead on arrival car with Brioish looks and interiors at 2X the price.

It was competing with an established player Ertiga but the optimistic pricing killed it instantly.

Also, there was practically no USP for the Mobilio.
Dedicate the production bays for BRV.

[landcruiser123]

Good riddance.
Assuming the BR-V is slightly more expensive than the Mobilio, people will simply ignore the Mobilio due to it's poor interior. I'm sure Honda will look to price the BR-V very competitively, undercutting the Creta by a significant margin.

Considering the limited production capacity of Honda compared to Maruti or Hyundai, it's a good move.

Originally Posted by just_in

I think honda should start following the Maruti Suzuki way of ovrlapping vehicles.

Nope, I don't agree here. With the limited production capacity and rumors of Civic and Accord making a comeback, space in the factory is at a premium.

[pamiboy]

Limited production capacity though is a good problem to have, but a problem nevertheless. If the numbers are significant enough there is no constraint on them to expand the facility or create another factory, just saying.

I think the situation is somewhat similar to Tata motors with its Aria being rebranded as Hexa. Basically Hexa and BRV are cousins of vans and their success or failure will determine the future of such exercises in India.

[rr_zen]

I am not surprised by this move. With the Mobilio, Honda has done the same mistake as they did with the earlier version of the Jazz in terms of pricing it. The Mobilio never had a premium feel and was always associated with the Brio/Amaze. Maybe, if it had been aggressively priced at the time of launch, it would have churned out some decent and consistent numbers.

[NPX]

It'll be a very wise decision to discontinue mobilio and replace it with BR-V which has got SUV-ish looks.
I think Honda has learned the fact that SUV is the most desired type of car in India after the success of Ecosport and back to back launches of KUV1OO and Vitara Brezza.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Isn't the BRV a reskinned Mobilio? A Mobilio cross at max?

Instead of facelifting the Mobilio which flopped in most markets, they wisely decided to come out with a cross version that also fixed the main weakness of that old car- the interiors. And market it as an SUV.

Smart move. And another smart move discontinuing Mobilio since both these cars in the same showroom will reveal the BRV for what it truly is underneath- A Mobilio.

[DicKy]

This was bound to happen. If the BR-V was more SUVish and had only 5 seats, then the Mobilio stood some chance, or rather whatever it had till now.

But with almost everything from the Mobilio plus an attractive front end meant the BR-V makes sense, with the Mobilio having not one redeeming feature over the BR-V.


Same case applies for the Quanto-TUV300 debacle, still Mahindra choose to relaunch the Canto.

[poised2drive]

Good for the people.

Mobilio has been overly priced from the Day 1 and I still remember the arrogance of a Salesman who thought this Overly priced Abomination , just with a 'Honda' tag will trounce Ertiga. This was told when it was questioned what exactly Honda was offering for the customers at a price of XUV when Ertiga was so pocket-friendly with a reliable engine ! That was the time when City Idtec was introduced and all Honda Showrooms had queue lines upfront.

Even with its looks, this car would have been immensely successful in the 2-tier cities and towns, given its 7 seater capacity and trusted brand , if sensibly priced.

With its looks, Mobilio discouraged the enthusiasts and with its atrocious price, it bid goodbye to the practical buyers.

[avdhesh15]

I think it's a good decision and will only help Honda's cause by removing cars with the outdated interiors. The Amaze has been updated and now the Mobilio might be discontinued. Brio anyway is inconsequential.

I also don't believe that Honda is placed like Maruti and can have multiple products overlapping. In most cases it will be inevitable that the potential customer will compare the Honda to a Maruti.

On the BR-V, I sincerely hope Honda is aggressive with pricing at least at the launch (like they did with the latest City). By aggressive I mean realize the competition is the Ertiga and not the Innova! They need to do something drastic like Maruti did with the Brezza and forced Ford to reduce prices. That will help garner good levels of interest and potentially make people forget about the Mobilio.

[m8002?]

Hope Honda learnt their lessons and prices this reasonably. In my opinion it should be launched at the same price point as the mobilio. They could even pull some customers from creta and xuv.

[nik_kapur]

This may just be a Masterstroke by Honda !!
I was wondering how would they position the BRV given its Mobilio roots and similar utility but now if it replaces the Mobilio, this will give the Ertiga some sleepless nights.

Price the BRV at Mobilio price and you have winner Honda !
Price it close to the Creta and you can will see a bigger flop than the Mobilio !!

[deetjohn]

It's imperative that Honda pulled the plug on Mobilio before the BRV is here. And what this means is that the BRV should be priced well.


A SUV premium added on top of very expensive Mobilio would have tanked the BRV which is nothing but a glorified MPV. Honda would have struggled to point out the 'big' differences between the two. Take a look below.



And before someone gets confused, that's the BRV in that pic there, not the Mobilio.