Honda Mobilio is still alive and well in Indonesia

Honda Indonesia is still selling the Mobilio MPV

When Honda Cars Philippines Inc (HCPI) first brought the Mobilio into the country, they had one of the most spacious and most powerful compact MPVs in the market. With a 1.5L i-VTEC engine under the hood pushing 120 PS along with plenty of cabin space, the Mobilio was poised to become one of Honda’s best-selling models in the country.

That changed when the automaker brought the BR-V which serves as the SUV version of the Mobilio MPV. With the market geared towards SUV styling and ground clearance, sales of Honda’s MPV shrunk to the point that HCPI quietly discontinued the Mobilio for the local market in 2021.

Over in Indonesia, however, the Honda Mobilio is still alive and well despite the BR-V now serving as the brand’s most popular 7-seater model. But why is the MPV still being offered in Indonesia whereas other markets have decided to drop the Mobilio altogether?

One particular reason the Mobilio is still being offered is the fact that Indonesia is known for being an MPV country. Whereas Thailand is popular for having plenty of pickup trucks, the Indonesian market is flooded with MPVs of various sizes and models. Heck, some MPVs sold in the Philippines like the Hyundai Stargazer/Stargazer X, Toyota Avanza/Veloz, Mitsubishi Xpander/Xpander Cross, Nissan Livina, and Suzuki Ertiga/XL7 are all made in Indonesia.

But unlike before when the Mobilio was available in different variants including a top-of-the-line version with a CVT, the MPV is now only being offered as a base model M/T for fleet sales. It still comes with a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine but it is now only mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. It also loses the touchscreen infotainment system for a 2-DIN sound system, 15-inch steelies with a hubcap cover, and halogen headlights.

Despite losing some features, the Mobilio still comes with a digital air-conditioning system with rear vents, one-touch tumble second-row seats, rear parking sensors, dual front airbags, speed-sensing door locks, ISOFIX child seat anchors, and a multi-info display.

The Honda Mobilio may have been overtaken by the more popular BR-V, but it’s nice to know that the compact MPV is still alive and being offered outside the Philippines.