Honda Cars India forays into MPV segment with Mobilio

Premium car manufacturer Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) has marked its entry into the Indian multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment with the launch of its 7-seater Honda Mobilio. The MPV was launched in Delhi on Friday, with deliveries expected to commence from September.

The vehicles were launched both in petrol and diesel versions, with prices ranging from Rs6.5 lakh- Rs11 lakh. It will be also available in a sports variant, RS.

Honda Mobilio has been developed at Honda R&D Asia Pacific Co in Bangkok, Thailand, following market surveys in India on people's driving needs and lifestyles. The Mobilio is being shipped with a 1.5L i-DTEC diesel and 1.5L i-VTEC petrol engines.

''Honda has vast experience in offering a variety of premium MPVs to customers globally. Drawing from this varied experience, Honda engineers have used the same technological know-how and design philosophy to develop the Mobilio. India remains one of our key strategic markets in the region and I am confident that Mobilio will contribute significantly to HCIL's growth in India,'' Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Managing Officer, Honda Motor Company and Representative of Development, Purchasing and Production in Asia and Oceania region, said.

''The launch of Honda Mobilio follows the success of Honda Amaze and all-new City which led to our exceptional growth of 83 per cent in the previous financial year. Our ultimate goal is to be the most trusted company in the country and we aim at not only creating great products but also offering an unparalleled experience to our customers. We are confident that Honda Mobilio will meet the needs as well as aspirations of our customers and help us expand the pride and joy of buying a Honda to a new set of customers,'' said Hironori Kanayama, president and CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd.

In the global market, Honda Motor has considerable presence with a number of MPVs over the last 20 years, and has cumulative sales of over 5.5 million units till 2013. These models include Odyssey, Step-wagon, Elysion and Freed.

The 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine of the Mobilio, based on Honda's Earth Dreams Technology, delivers a maximum power of 100 ps@3600 RPM, maximum torque of 200 Nm@1750 RPM and fuel economy of 24.2 kmpl (test data). It has been mated to the standard five-speed manual transmission.

The 1.5 Li-VTEC petrol engine delivers a maximum power of 119 ps@6600 RPM, maximum torque of 145 Nm@4600 RPM and fuel economy of 17.3 kmpl. The PetrolMobilio is equipped with standard 5-speed manual transmission. 

The Mobilio is available in three grades offered in petrol and diesel variants – E, S and V with manual transmission. The sportier Mobilio RS grade will be available in Diesel. The Mobilio comes with a two years or 40,000 kms warranty as standard.

The company is being manufactured at HCIL's facility in Greater Noida, with localisation level of more than 90 per cent.