Multi-purpose vehicles drive into the sunset as sales gradually decline

Key highlights:

• Honda Cars India recently discontinued its MPV Mobilio in India
• Mobilio's last recorded sales figure was in February 2017 where it sold only 63 units
• With the exception of Eritga, Innova and Eeco all the other cars in the MPV have seen low sales

Honda Cars India recently discontinued its Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) Mobilio in the Indian market three years after its launch. The company said in a DNA India report said that there has been an overall decline in the MPV segment for personal use which was a reason for the decline.

A Honda Cars India spokesperson quoted in the report said that the MPV segment has been largely driven by sales in the commercial segment and has been limited for personal use. In view of this they have decided to discontinue the sale of the Mobilio in India.

Honda had launched the Mobilio in 2014 to compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Renault Lodgy, Toyota Innova. However, it also competed with Mahindra Xylo, Chevrolet Tavera, Datsun Go Plus, Nissan Evalia, Chevrolet Enjoy and Maruti Suzuki Eeco.

However, Mobilio's top competitor was the Ertiga which is priced in the similar range.

The car's last recorded sales figure was in February 2017 where it sold only 63 units, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Prior to this, in January it sold just 151 units.

From sales of 3,365 units in July 2014 when it had just launched, Honda Mobilio's sales have declined gradually over the last three years.

For instance, a year later in July itself the Mobilio's sales had dropped to 909 units. By July 2016 it was down to just 137 units.

Mobilio is said to have sold about 1,840 units since June 2016. In comparison the Ertiga sold around 67,773 units in the same period.

With the exception of Eritga, Innova and Eeco all the other cars in the MPV segment have not managed to perform well. The Innova being in a much higher price bracket still continues to be a top contender in the segment due to higher specifications. While Eeco is much lower priced in comparison to the Mobilio and has managed to do well in sales.

Even newly launched MPV Tata Hexa has sold 727 units in May 2017. It's highest sales has been on its launch month in January 2017 where it sold 1,498 units.

Renault Lodgy priced in the same bracket as the Mobilio between Rs 8.29 lakh to Rs 11.89 lakh sold just 207 units in May 2017 and recorded a 71.6% decline in sales from the corresponding period last year. The car's sales has slipped from 484 units in December 2016 to 207 units in May 2017.

Mahindra Xylo priced in the range of Rs 8.28 lakh to Rs 10.89 lakh posted a growth of 36.2% in May 2017 despite selling just 681 units. It's highest sales in the last 6 months was 1,081 units sold in January 2017.

As for both Chevrolet Tavera and Enjoy both these MPVs will be discontinued in the market soon as the General Motors exits the Indian market.

Chevrolet Tavera sold only 246 units in May 2017 registering a 66% decline in sales in comparison to the same month last year. A month earlier it had sold 487 units. It sold its highest in the last six months in December 2016 at 776 units.

Chevrolet Enjoy's sales has been even worse. The last recorded sales was in February 2017 where it sold just 40 units. A month earlier it sold 213 units.

Nissan had discontinued the sales of the Evalia. And the Datsun Go Plus recorded sales of just 425 units in May 2017 which was a 36.2% decline in sales. In the last six months its highest sales was in January 2017 when it sold 550 units.