No longer the land of MPVs, SUVs have become the No.1 segment in Indonesia

For decades, Indonesia is an impenetrable fortress where multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) rule the roost. However, recent sales data have shown that SUVs have effectively taken over many buyers’ preferences in the archipelago.

At the all-new Honda WR-V launch last week, PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) revealed that 619,000 vehicles were sold in Indonesia in 2021. 227,626 of those new vehicles sold were SUVs which account for 37% market share.

Meanwhile, 202,010 MPVs were sold in 2021, effectively making SUVs the most popular segment in Indonesia. The SUV market’s growth in 2021 was explosive given that it was a 185% increase from 2020 (123,273 units).

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Furthermore, SUV sales in Indonesia have also gone up steadily in the past 5 years while MPV and LCGC (Low-cost green car) sales slipped. In the archipelago, the SUV market comprised of the standard SUV, medium SUV (MSUV), low-cost SUV (LSUV), and small-SUV (SSUV) segments.

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To put those segments into perspective, Honda offers a model for each of those 4 segments which are the CR-V, HR-V, BR-V, and the WR-V respectively.

The small SUV market was only introduced in Indonesia in 2020 with the launch of the Nissan Magnite, and Kia Sonet. It was only when the Toyota Raize/Daihatsu Rocky was introduced in 2021 that this segment started to blow up. It saw a 90% increase in sales in January-August 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

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Hence, Honda saw an opportunity to make Indonesia its global market debut for the all-new WR-V. With the country’s growing demand for SUVs, the WR-V seems to add a bit more spice to the burgeoning small SUV market which is dominated by the Raize.

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With 3 variants offered, for now, the WR-V is powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre i-VTEC (121 PS/145 Nm) that is shared with the BR-V. All variants are paired with a CVT automatic that drives the front wheels and the highest variant gets Honda Sensing.

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Honda had also announced that the first 1,700 units of the WR-V will be produced in December while it aims to sell 30,000 units in Indonesia in 2023. There’s no doubt that the WR-V could be exported to other markets but will Honda Malaysia bring it in? If so, the Perodua Ativa should be afraid.

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