No pick up in sales, Honda drives Mobilio into sunset

Japanese automaker Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) has quietly discontinued Mobilio in the Indian market three years after launching it to take on the likes of Maruti Suzuki's Ertiga and others.

However, since the car failed to make a mark for itself against the competition, it remained on the sidelines for a long time while the other models were pushed into the market by the company.

A spokesperson for Honda Cars India Ltd said, "The multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment in India has been largely driven by sales in the commercial segment and has been limited for personal use. In view of the overall decline of the MPV segment for personal use, we have decided that Mobilio will no more be available for sale in India. Honda is committed to ensure availability of spare parts of the Mobilio for the existing customers and the dealers will continue to service the car as before."

A senior Honda executive had told this correspondent in February that it will be difficult to discontinue Mobilio as the company "has already made a lot of investment in it".

Yoichiro Ueno, president and CEO, Honda Cars India, with whom DNA Money spoke to during the same event, had said, "Mobilio's sales were not as what we had expected, but we have no plans to shut down its production at present. We are at trying to push it to long-range fleet operators. Some other car models like Amaze are also being pushed through aggregators as we also know that shared mobility is the future and we as a company would like to be part of this revolution."

According to an industry estimate, about 1,840 units of Mobilio have been sold since June 2016.

In comparison Ertiga sold around 67,773 units in the same period.

Meanwhile, the company reported a 12.2% increase in domestic sales at 12,804 units during June.

The company had sold 11,407 units in the same month last year. Last month, the company sold 283 units of small car Brio, 1,307 units of premium hatchback Jazz, 1,193 units of compact sedan Amaze and 5,187 units of mid-sized sedan City.

The company also sold 4,243 units of its new compact sports utility vehicle WR-V.

DUSTY ROAD

• The company reported a 12.2% rise in domestic sales at 12,804 units during June
   
• Last month, the company sold 283 units of small car Brio