The Honda Brio, which was just unveiled to the world at the 2010 Bangkok Motor Show looks muscular and sporty with a stylish exterior that leaves the current crop of small city compact cars to look rather bland parked next to it. The car might come with a 1200cc I-Vtec petrol engine for the top end variant as well as a smaller three cylinder derivative of the same engine displacing about 900cc which could challenge the Viva directly.
The Brio, which will also feature ABS and airbags to have a decent set of features is a very crucial launch for Honda, which could make or break it’s fortunes in the ultra competitive ASEAN small car market which is growing at a fast paced rate.
Honda knows this better than anyone else as the ASEAN car buying public have clearly demonstrated that the mere Honda badge cannot guarantee Honda sales volume as value for money is one factor that the ASEAN small car market is hyper sensitive about together with packaging, safety and fuel efficiency.
The Honda Brio will be made at Honda’s Noida plant and possibly later at regional ASEAN plants to allow for better pricing.
