The Honda Brio will be launched in India next month and all the details of the car are out already (thanks to it being launched in Thailand before). However the most important piece of information which prospective buyers would want to know about is the price. The Honda Brio will compete with its arch Japanese rivals Etios Liva, which has a starting price of Rs. 4.59 lakhs for the G variant, while the top end VX variant is priced at Rs. 5.99 lakhs. Toyota has no other hatchback in its line-up and doesn’t have to worry about cannibalization. However Honda has the Jazz which has a starting price Rs. 5.5 lakhs. (all prices mentioned here are ex-showroom, New Delhi).
Now there is no way Honda would want the Brio eating into the sales of the Jazz, which they have finally managed to price very competitively. Thus, the Brio will have to be priced below Rs. 5.5 lakhs for the top end model. We feel that Honda will launch three variants of the Brio hatchback with prices starting at Rs. 3.99 lakhs. The middle variant could be priced at at Rs. 4.49 lakhs, while the top end variant could be priced at Rs. 4.99 lakhs. This will help Honda clearly distinguish its line-up without cannibalization. At these prices, the Brio has serious potential to make a dent in the sales of the Toyota Etios Liva, Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Hyundai i10.
