Is Honda over ambitious with Mobilio pricing?

When the Honda Amaze was launched in 2012, it marked the start of Honda’s new competitive pricing strategy.  The City too followed the same aggressive pricing formula and both these sedans have helped turn around Honda’s fortunes; the carmaker reported a growth of over 80 percent in the last fiscal year.

However, with the Honda Mobilio’s price tag, has Honda’s confidence turned into overconfidence? While the entry price of Rs 6.49 lakh for the petrol and Rs 7.89 lakh for the diesel version are reasonably competent, you have to remember that these variants are quite sparsely equipped. For all practical purposes, you need to climb up the spec-chain to get a sensibly equipped Mobilio and that is where the Mobilio starts to feel a quite pricey.

Compared to its main rival, the Maruti Ertiga, the top-spec Mobilio is a steep Rs 1.41 lakh and Rs 1.27 lakh (petrol and diesel, respectively) more expensive than the similarly equipped top-end Maruti Ertiga. And this is without opting for the ‘RS’ body kit that costs Rs 1,10,000 over the top ‘V’ trim. Making the Ertiga even better value is the limited edition model which gets you alloy-wheels, parking sensors and wood-trim for a marginal Rs 20,000 extra. Besides, there are discounts in the market prevailing which makes the price gap between the Ertiga and Mobilio even wider.

However, the Mobilio’s obvious premium pricing doesn’t seem to have dettered customers for the moment. Honda says it has racked up 8,800 bookings since launch. Dealers say that bookings have been strong for the Mobilio with the styling, flexible interiors and of course the Honda badge being the key factors for the encouraging response.

But, the Mobilio is currently in a honeymoon phase with customers and it remains to be seen if the MPV can hang on to the healthy demand after the initial euphoria is over.

Aditya Bengali

Read : Honda Mobilio Review