Honda stops production for entry-level hatchback Brio in India

Japanese carmaker Honda has stopped production of its entry-level hatchback Brio in India, cutting short the vehicle's over a seventeen-year-long stint in the country. Honda Cars India, the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, plans to maximise sales and visibility of its compact sedan Amaze which would now be its entry-level offering in the Indian market.

"Our entry car is now Amaze. We have stopped production of Brio and as of now, we do not intend to bring next-generation Brio into India," Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and Director (Sales and Marketing) Rajesh Goel told PTI.

Customer preference has started to shift towards comparatively bigger models, a trend similar to other global markets. "A sedan was the top seller in India last year. It is a typical motorisation cycle followed in every country and it's just that in India the upgradation pace is much slower than other countries," Goyal said.

Theoretically, this change should have happened 6-7 years earlier, he added. When asked if the company would like to bring in any new entry-level model in Brio's place, Goyal said, "Amaze is going to be our entry model in the Indian market".

Jazz and WR-V are the other two models which would cater to the small car requirements, he added. Honda had launched Brio in September 2001 and has sold around 97,000 units till date.

In 2017, the automaker had stopped selling its multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Mobilio in the country due to poor demand. Launched in July 2014 in India, Honda had sold a total of 40,789 units of Mobilio in the country.