Honda Mobilio MPV beats Maruti Suzuki Ertiga in August sales

The Honda Mobilio MPV was always expected to be a potent threat to many MPVs in India, especially to its primary rival, the popular Maruti Suzuki Ertiga compact MPV. Keeping to the expectations, the recently launched Honda Mobilio has outperformed its market competitor Maruti Ertiga when monthly sales are concerned within a month’s time of its arrival in India.

The Honda Mobilio had done the same thing in the car market of Indonesia as well. In Indonesia the Mobilio outshone the Suzuki Ertiga and went ahead to become a super hit vehicle becoming one of the top selling cars there. The same story was expected to be followed in India and it did so. In the coming months also, the Mobilio with all its superior features is expected to stay ahead of the Ertiga which is very able but comparatively lackluster.

Honda Cars India launched the new Mobilio MPV in India on 23^rd of July this year, post which the vehicle received more than 10,000 bookings in just 20 days. The Honda Mobilio is the Japanese car major’s first venture in the Indian MPV market, and the first attempt in the segment has proven to be a very rewarding one for the car maker.

Honda sold 5,530 units of the sub-compact Mobilio MPV in the month of August this year as compared against Maruti Ertiga’s sales figure of less than 5,491 units, as this sales figure in an all inclusive utility vehicle number from Maruti including the Grand Vitara and Gypsy.

The Mobilio MPV is undoubtedly the third consecutive successful model from the house of Honda after the Amaze and the new City. The Mobilio has accounted for around 33 percent of the company in the overall Indian domestic monthly sales number.

Last month, Honda Cars India sold a total of 16,758 vehicles in the Indian car market that has given the company an outstanding 88 percent growth rate as compared against the sales in the same month last year.

Another pleasant surprise for Honda in the last month was that the Amaze emerged as the highest sold car from Honda India with the sale of 9,198 units.

Because of the high demand for the Mobilio MPV, the Japanese car major has kept the production of its bestselling car, the new City on hold for about a month now in order to increase the Mobilio’s production in its Greater Noida facility. Honda has announced that its new City sedan will be built in the company’s new Tapukara factory in Rajasthan within this week.

The Honda City is also the higher C segment leader in India, after it overthrew the previous segment leader the Hyundai Verna soon after it launched in India in January this year. On the other hand, the Amaze is continuing with its strong demands in the country ever since it launched in April last year turning the company’s fortunes almost overnight.

After Mobilio’s launch, Maruti Suzuki is trying to keep the customer interest in Ertiga by launching its Anniversary Special Edition model.