Honda Philippines to locally assemble the BR-V, announced at 2018 PIMS

MANILA: On the first day of the Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) 2018, Honda has announced that it will start assembling the BR-V SUV here. The Japanese carmaker was already assembling the highly popular City sedan here. The BR-V being the most sold Honda after the City is the reason to start its local assembly.  The move to locally assemble vehicles is part of the long-term plan from Honda.

There are very few vehicles built in the Philippines. Manufacturers do not deem it necessary to build cars here as importing them makes more sense. The local conditions don’t necessarily favour building vehicles as the process isn’t cost-friendly. Moreover, affordable labour is hard to find. In other countries or the places from where Honda imports its cars to the Philippines have cheap labour as well as lower operating costs. Moreover, the local governments out there prefer giving SOPs and incentives on local manufacturing. Nothing of that sort is offered in the Philippines though.

So, how does the move to local assembly help the Philippine audience? First up, the waiting periods for a vehicle goes down drastically. Imagine ordering your favourite vehicle and then waiting for the dealer to forward the demand to the car maker. The company will then instruct their overseas plant to send a specified amount of vehicles. Instead of that, now you can order your BR-V and get it within a week.

Honda offers the BR-V with a lone 120 PS/ 154 Nm 1.5-litre petrol engine with i-VTEC. This engine can be paired only with a CVT that sends power to the front wheels. The Honda BR-V local edition will be offered in two trims S and V Navi and at the same price as before. It will compete with the likes of Toyota Rush as well as the Mitsubishi Xpander.

At the PIMS 2018, MJ del Pilar, deputy division head for sales, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc said "The main difference is, it's proudly made by HCPI Santa Rosa."