You might remember last year Honda revealed a small concept car at the 27th Thailand International Motor Expo. Here’s the final production version of that car called Brio which will go on sale in far east Asia from May.
The Brio will be made by Honda’s Thai subsidiary and is designed as an economical car to satisfy needs of the growing markets in Thailand and India for a basic but high quality car. It is powered by a 1.2L i-VTEC engine that is certified by government as a 5.0 liter per 100 km car.
It also has a very compact size at length 3,610mm x width 1,680mm x height 1,475 mm. The design of the Honda Brio remains loyal to the concept car and while it’s alright at the front, the rear-end looks quite bad. It’s like they didn’t bothered to com up with a better design since it is just an eco car for Thailand! The interior has a more contemporary design but the finish and quality of used materials don’t seem to be very charming.
Honda reckons sales of 40,000 units per year in Thailand. The market will be expanded as they have plans to first export and then make and sell the car in India.
More and more manufacturers are now looking at Thailand as a market with great potential for small and economy models. The workforce is also cheap there and it’s easy for car makers setting up production plants there. They also have the support of Thai government because these factories create many jobs for the locals.
