mobil

Mobil is the Indonesian and Malay word for a car. It is the standard term used in everyday language to refer to passenger vehicles and is common in signs, advertising, and media. In Indonesian and Malay, phrases such as mobil bekas (used car) or mobil listrik (electric car) illustrate its broad everyday usage. The word is often thought to originate from the longer English term automobile, adapted into local language usage in the early 20th century.

Beyond its linguistic meaning, Mobil also refers to a historic brand in the petroleum and automotive fuels industry. Mobil was developed as a brand by the Vacuum Oil Company in the early 20th century and later became Mobil Oil. The brand became part of a larger corporate lineage that culminated in the merger of Exxon and Mobil to form ExxonMobil in 1999. Today, ExxonMobil is one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, and the Mobil brand persists in consumer products and branding in some markets, most notably Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil and branded fuels in various regions.

In addition to the Indonesian and Malay context, the name Mobil is recognized globally as part of a corporate history tied to the automotive and energy sectors. The dual usage—a common everyday term for a car in several languages and a historic corporate brand—reflects how one term can traverse linguistic and industrial domains.