Mobilio’s sales have been dropping and for the month of February 2015, it plummeted to an all-time low domestic figure of 1697 units. The country’s most fuel efficient MPV was launched in July 2014 with a lot of fanfare.
It started with consistent over 3000 units and sales peaked and crossed 5000 units in Aug and Sep 14. However, it started to fall in December and now in February 2015, it is at its lowest figures yet and sales are under 2000 units for the first time.
In comparison, look at Ertiga’s figures (it also includes a few hundred Gypsy units) during the last 5 months. They have almost always consistently averaged over 5000 units without any big sway!
Mobilio vs Ertiga: 5 Month Comparative Sales
Monthly Sales Comparison
- In October, when the festive season was at its peak, Honda manufactured 3,781 Mobilios, sold 2,985 units and exported 126 units. Maruti Suzuki on the other hand produced 5849 units of Ertiga (and Gypsy), sold 6,027 units and exported 759.
- November saw a production of 4,619 Mobilios, export of just 60 units, while the domestic sales were pegged at 3,589 units. Maruti’s figures though were better, as it saw a production of 8,292 units, export of 1,166 units and domestic sales of 5,155 units.
- December kept the slide on for Honda with production down to only 1,802 units, domestic sale of 2,098 units and export of 165 units. Maruti stood with a production of 4,934 units, domestic sales of 5,774 units and export of 1,073 units.
- The New Year with higher excise rates did not shake the MPV segment and saw Honda produce 2,816 units, sell 2,942 units and export 204 units. Maruti on the other hand produced 8,151 units, sold 6,432 of them and exported 803 units.
- February was bad for Honda. They produced just 1,803 units, sold 1,697 units and exported 136 units. Maruti on the other hand kept the spirit going with a production of 7,300 units, domestic sales of 5,863 units and export of 1,049 units.
Mobilio’s fall is primarily because of its higher-than-expected price tag. And with the Renault Lodgy coming next month, things may be worse for Honda, more than Maruti since, history tells us that new car launches in a particular segment have more often than not, affected other cars than Maruti’s.
Note: These are official SIAM-shared sales figures
