Honda to export made-in-India MPV to South Africa

Company got 9,000 bookings since it was launched on July 8

Japanese carmaker Honda is planning to export made-in-India multi-purpose utility vehicle (MPV) Mobilio to South Africa and other neighbouring countries.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of launching Mobilio for the Tamil Nadu market at Chennai today, Shigeru Yamazaki, director, Honda Cars India Ltd said that by end of the fiscal the company will start exporting the product (Mobilio) from its Noida facility.

Initially, the products will be exported to South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other neighboring countries.

While refusing to give target numbers for Mobilio, Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice president - sales and marketing, Honda Cars India Ltd said overall (all Honda models) the company set a target to export around 9,000 units during this year, as compared to 6,000 units last year.

Yamazaki noted, globally last year Honda sold 5.5 million units of MPVs.

The new Mobilio, which was designed by the company's Asia-Pacific R&D team for this part of the globe, will compete with Toyota's Innova, Maruti's Ertiga and others.

Yamazaki said, Honda's target is to sell three lakh units by end of 2017. Last year company reported a sales of 1.34 lakh cars, an increase of around 83 per cent a year ago.

The company is looking to boost the sales and its market share in India, with the launch of a seven-seater MPV Mobilio, which has been a runaway success in Indonesia.

"Mobilio is successful in Indonesia, with a sale of 46,000 units, with a market share of 23 per cent. I am confident the Mobilio will repeat this success in the Indian market as well," said Yamazaki.

Sen noted, in 23 days (Mobilio was launched on July 8 in India) the company got 9,000 bookings for Mobilio.

"It was beyond our target," said Sen, adding that the company is now contemplating to increase its production in its Noida and Rajasthan facilities, which together got a installed capacity of 2.4 lakh units.