Honda's new small car Brio

Honda's new small car Brio ; AUTHORISED Honda distributor Kah Motor may introduce the brand new Brio supermini here next year with an eye on expanding its market share. The Brio was unveiled last week at the Thailand International Motor Expo in Bangkok. Thailand is a big market for Honda. Japan's No. 3 carmaker has its Asian regional headquarters in Thailand as well as extensive manufacturing facilities.

Honda designed the Brio for the Thai market and India and the entry-level model will be made in those two countries.

With the 3.6-metre-long Brio, Honda is entering a new small car segment in Thailand. When the car is launched in the kingdom in March, it will have a fuel-efficient engine - likely to be 1.3 litres - and an affordable price. Honda said that it will start at 400,000 baht (S$17,300). This compares with its direct competitor, the Thai-made Nissan March, which starts at 375,000 baht.

According to Kah Motor product manager Vincent Ng, if the Brio does come to Singapore, it is expected to cost 'a few thousand dollars less' than the Jazz, which is a slightly larger five-door hatchback.

The Jazz also has a 1.3-litre engine but with a higher output of 100 hp. It currently starts from $78,900 with COE.

'At the moment, we are still considering importing it because Singapore's small car market has shrunk drastically since early 2009 and should continue to shrink until 2015,' said Mr Ng.

But he said that Kah Motor won't rule out launching it because 'it is a new model and it will help us to expand our market share'.

'The Brio can help us to reach out to new customers and increase our sales,' he explained.

Kah Motor's sales have plunged this year in the face of a high yen and the sharp reduction in the COE quota. Its total sales this year are expected to be about 2,500 Honda cars, down about 54 per cent from 5,398 units in 2009. This slide is more than the market contraction of around 39 per cent.

Honda's most popular model in Singapore is the Jazz. In previous years, it used to be the bigger and more expensive Civic. This year has seen Kah Motor losing this key segment, as well as the one where the Stream compact MPV used to hold sway.

But Mr Ng is confident that if the Brio does come here, it will capture a new market because 'it is lightweight, compact and super efficient'. 'It qualifies for Thailand's classification of eco car, which must achieve a fuel consumption of less than 5.0 litres per 100 km under the combined cycle,' he said

Related Post: