Honda Legend and Pilot discontinued in the Philippines

MANILA: Honda Philippines has stopped selling two of its models in the country. This has been confirmed by reliable sources from the company, saying that the flagship sedan, the Legend Hybrid, and an SUV, the Pilot, have been taken off sales.

The Honda Legend was a great car and displayed the company’s prowess in the hybrid field, all-wheel drive and technologies. However, it was also considered that it would not sell in good numbers given the fact that it was clearly overpriced, which was just under PHP 4.4 million. Hence, the discontinuation of the Legend was very much on the cards.

However, the phasing out of the Pilot SUV is a bigger surprise for all the people who have known the car inside out. In the Philippines, it did occupy a very defined role with its large American-style design and the eight-seater layout. All of these were given at a price tag of under PHP 3.4 million.

We can assume the reason behind the discontinuation of two of the top models could have something to do with the exchange rates. At the time of the launch back in 2016, the USD-PHP exchange rate was around the 47 pesos. However, the exchange now has also touched PHP 54 to one US dollar. Hence, the 13.7% fall in the Philippine economy would hurt the company.

Besides, in order to make this reason more justifiable, we can place another assumption. Presently, the fuel price in the country is on the rise. Hence, with a V6 3.5-litre gas engine of the Pilot, the efficiency would take a hit. Rather, the new CR-V would be perfect to take up the role of a three-row SUV, but with an efficient diesel engine under the hood.

The Honda Pilot was manufactured at the company’s plant in Alabama, USA, by Honda Motor Company America. Hence, the falling Philippine currency would gobble up a lot of the profit margin.

Following the discontinuation, the Odyssey and the Accord become the top-of-the-line models from the Japanese company in the Philippines. Interestingly, the Accord has an all-new model down the pipeline.