Zee Media Bureau/ Vibhuti Jaitly
New Delhi: Japanese carmaker Honda on Wednesday launched its Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) -- Honda Mobilio-- at a starting price of Rs 6.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The basic petrol variant will cost Rs 6.49 lakh, whereas, the diesel variant will start from Rs 7.89 lakh.
The launch of Mobilio has forced Maruti Suzuki India to offer heavy discount on its 7-seater Ertiga.
The base model of the petrol variant of Maruti Ertiga is priced at Rs 5.8 lakh and the diesel variant starts from Rs 7.22 lakh.
Honda Mobilio can be seen as a direct competitor of Maruti Ertiga and Toyota Innova. The MUV segment is fast catching up and is accounting for 15 percent of car sales per month.
According to sources, Maruti is giving discounts anywhere in the range of Rs 70,000-85,000 on Ertiga which includes cash discount, exchange bonus and a corporate discount to catch up on sales.
Giving discounts on cars in the festive season is a common phenomena in the country, also, various schemes and discounts are given on cars that are not selling well and are not a hit among the customers.
But Maruti's decision to offer such a heavy discount and deals on Ertiga, that has been received well in the market has only raised eyebrows that the carmaker is feeling threatened by Honda's competition in the MUV segment.
Ertiga has done well in Indian market and has been registering good sales since its launch in April 2012. But sales of Ertiga is going flat at around 5,000 units over the last few months.
