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.

Would you call the Veloz an MPV or SUV?

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.

Also read: Toyota Raize GR Sport buyers face 9-month waiting period in Indonesia

Variety, something Malaysian buyers don’t really have

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.

Also read: Indonesians get more choices than us – Toyota Raize fights Kia Sonet, Nissan Magnite

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.

Also read: All-new 2023 Honda WR-V debuts in Indonesia – Can it win over the Ativa?

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.

Also read: Review: 2021 Perodua Ativa AV – The new Malaysian highway king

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