The launch of Honda Brio sedan class somewhere around next year will give competition to other entry-level sedan cars like Swift DZire, Tata Indigo e-CS and the upcoming Mahindra Verito CS. Honda has been fairly successful in the sedan segment in the past with their fleet consisting of City, Civic and Accord. An advantage for the car is that it is also being launched with a diesel-powered engine, which is a first from Honda.
In this segment of passenger cars, Swift DZire has been dominating the markets so far. Toyota Etios and Chevrolet Aveo are the other sedans in this price range. Etios has garnered a lot of popularity in recent times, as it has focussed a lot on sales during the festive season. If Honda decides to revamp the current Brio completely and place it a little higher, Hyundai Verna could possibly be the biggest competition.
Rumours of the car being placed higher than the entry-level sedans are afloat as industry experts believe that the car might be powered by a 1.5-litre engine. However, the hatchback Brio has a 1.2-litre engine and points to a repetition of the story of Maruti Swift. The lower price also matches up to speculations that the length of the car will be less than 4 m, thereby being able to make significant tax cuts.
Honda has recently launched the CNG ready version of Honda City. If Brio gets a CNG variant, it could gain a significant advantage over most of the players in this section. However, India will have to wait for almost a year to find out the actual details and specifications about the car. As of now, Honda is gearing up for the launch of Brio sedan class in its Chinese and Thai markets. The fate of the new car in these markets will possibly determine the strategies of the automaker in India.
