About this episode
Why RHD to LHD Conversions are a Thing Depending on where you live, your home country may treat right-hand-drive (RHD) imports differently. For some, it’s allowable with vehicles that meet certain conditions. In Japan, it’s legal to own, register, and drive a left-hand-drive (LHD) car as long as it passes local inspection, whereas in other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Philippines (both LHD countries), it’s illegal to drive an RHD vehicle. Because of this, vehicle importers or exporters convert RHD vehicles to enable registration and sale in the destination country.Aside from legality, another reason importers or exporters convert RHD vehicles is that they can sell them at affordable prices in the destination country. The other is collector’s value because, as you might know, at one point in time, Japan tended to keep the best specs and models for itself. Examples include specific nameplates from the golden era of Japanese performance cars, which have become classics in their own right and are known to command high prices at auctions, especially for limited models.
Earl Lee/Autoblog
Why Did Conversions Start?At first, it wasn’t just about the collector’s value. In fact, it was a way to save money. Instead of buying a brand-new vehicle from a local dealer, converted vehicles can be purchased at bargain prices. This is the case in developing countries like the Philippines, where small businesses could save on a new car by getting a converted second-hand vehicle from Japan.Case in point, the Mitsubishi Delica, which has been produced in Japan since 1968. In countries like the Philippines, where a van can be both a family hauler and a business tool, many units were imported and used on the road, enough for the local Mitsubishi outfit to produce a model of its own: the Mitsubishi L300. Also, commercial vehicles like the Isuzu Elf were imported from Japan and converted in the Philippines to get to work and contribute to the economy at a fraction of the cost of a brand-new unit.Conversions were done out of necessity, to get models that weren’t available in that specific market and/or to meet a certain price point. It
