Honda India was once lying low because of the all-petrol line-up in their profile. People were fast latching on to diesel economy, as petrol powered cars took a backseat due to the huge price difference between the two fuels. Products like the Ford Ecosport, Renault Duster and the Mahindra XUV appeased the SUV loving crowd and took a large share of sales away from the Japanese car-maker. Honda’s small car offering, the Brio, did not offer an oil-burner under its hood either, while the ‘Jazz’ music that Honda played was too expensive for even the hardcore music aficionado.
Honda then launched the Amaze, which was lapped up by many, as it came plastered with that premium Honda badge at an affordable price. The new City diesel when launched, was booked by many without even taking a test drive, which speaks volumes about the quality and the experience people have had with the brand in our country so far.
Honda has launched the Mobilio, bookings for which have been hitting the roof with 10,000 vehicles being booked within a week already, and all of this has now resulted in the Japanese manufacturer flying past Mahindra to become the third-largest car maker in India. For the month of July, Honda managed to sell more cars then rival Mahindra, fueled by the additional numbers the Mobilio managed to rake in.
Honda Cars India sold 15,709 vehicles in July, a thousand more than Mahindra & Mahindra, however, from a year to date perspective, M&M is still in the lead.
Mahindra on the other hand is adamant on taking that postion back and is relying on its revamped Scorpio and new variants of its XUV, which are lined up for the festive season, before new vehicles enter the market in FY16.
Source: ET