In Europe we have not seen an MPV from Honda since the loss of the Stream, but worldwide the brand is still doing good business with the Odyssey. Although, ‘the’ Odyssey… there are two. This turns out to be an Asian copy, but with the steering wheel on the left!
The MPV or Minivan is on the decline worldwide, but that does not mean that there is no market for it at all. In America there will be a certain minimum of large, maximally practical space cars and in Asia there is certainly a market for this type of mobile living room.
Bakebest
Honda has been enjoying the Odyssey in those markets for years. That started in the 90s with one model that was sold worldwide. In Europe we were also presented with this car, albeit under the name ‘Shuttle’. As is certainly customary at Honda, from the second generation onwards, people began to distinguish between an American and a Japanese Odyssey. That gave the Japanese room to go ‘all-out’ for the American market with a hefty baking beast and a lot of comfort, while a smaller and perhaps more economical model was proposed in the home country.
China
This blue Odyssey, spotted by Willem Verstraten, is one of the last Japanese generation. This model was presented in 2013, but this car is a lot newer with year 2018. Now we often see an import car from Japan in these parts, but with this Odyssey there is something special going on: the steering wheel is on the left! This leaves a number of options with regard to the country of origin. This model is also sold in China, for example, but gray imports from that country are rare and the Chinese version has some unique design elements that are missing on this car.
Emirates
It is therefore more likely that this car was originally delivered in the Middle East, for example in the United Arab Emirates. Anyone who has ever been to that region will undoubtedly know that the car market there is a nice mix of American, European and Asian models. Honda even sells the American and Japanese Odyssey side by side in the Emirates, with the Japanese variant getting the addition ‘J’. Our ‘educated guess‘: this is such an Odyssey J. We think it’s a success! You?