Honda seems to have struck gold with the Brio platform. The Honda Amaze which has just been launched in the country is getting popular by the day and the car is quite popular in Thailand as well which is the only other market the Amaze is present in. Honda is looking to broaden the range of people it can attract to Honda showrooms and in a bid to do that, will be launching a MPV based on the Brio by April 2014.
The Honda Brio MPV will be launched foremost in the Indonesian market which has a special affinity for MPVs. It will rival the likes of the Suzuki Ertiga, Toyota Innova and the soon to be launched Chevrolet Enjoy in India. The car is expected to grow from the Brio hatchback and will feature a styling similar to the Amaze. So you can pretty much imagine a third row of seats instead of the boot of the Amaze.
The Brio based MPV will be launched at a very aggressive price tag in Indonesia to take the competition to an altogether new level. April 2014 is when Honda states that the car will be launched but that is the maximum time frame Honda has given for the car’s launch. The car, however can be launched even before that and needless to say, will make an Indian debut for sure once the car gets launched in Indonesia.
It will be powered by the same 1.5 litre diesel motor that powers the Amaze and seeing that the engine is a great combination of fuel efficiency and power, the MPV will find itself a lot of takers. It will share a lot of body parts with the Brio and the Amaze to keep a tab on costs which will only result in a better pricing of the car. The only territory in which Honda is not using the Brio is the SUV segment. How about a Brio based SUV? But the car would look just too cute to be a SUV. In the meanwhile, MPV is the way to go.
Source
