Indonesian Auto Market Upbeat on 700,000 Mark

[2010-07-29]

Indonesian Auto Market Upbeat ...	Indonesian Auto Market Upbeat ...
Indonesian Auto Market Upbeat ...

"We are optimistic that we can reach the target of selling 650,000-700,000 units by the end of this year," said Johnny Darmawan, the president director of PT Toyota-Astra Motor and a member of the association, at the 18th Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) at the Jakarta International Expo.

According to the association's data, this year's growth was mainly driven by the high sales of the Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) model which accounted for 242,694 units, making up 65 percent of all models marketed in the country.

In 2009 the MPV model was also a favored choice, taking 69.3 percent of the market share, despite sales being down to 335,053 units from 388,790 in the previous year.

"Witnessing this trend, we are upbeat that we can reach the target of selling 1 million units by 2015," said Darmawan who also heads the 18th IIMS committee.

As of June, Toyota trumped the sales by shifting 140,184 units, a 77.4-percent increase from the same period last year, followed by Daihatsu with 54,573 units and Mitsubishi with 52,148 units.

"We hope the government will keep on trying to boost investment in automotive industry because this industry employs a huge number of people," Darmawan said. As of the end of last year, cars and car part manufacturers employed 194,000 workers.

He also expected the government to provide incentives for environmentally friendly cars to encourage people to help the environment.

Vice President of Indonesia, Boediono, who also attended the opening ceremony, said environmentally friendly technology for automobile products in Indonesia was still difficult to promote due to pricing.

"The prices of eco-friendly cars in this country are still very expensive," he said.

However, he said the government had set a target that in five years time, 7 to 8 percent of cars on the roads would be hybrid cars.

"I also challenge car manufacturers to convert their products from running on fuel to gas to reduce emissions in big cities," said Boediono who officially opened the 18th IIMS.

Darmawan said this year's IIMS, which ran from July 23 to August 1, upheld "Eco-Technology Motoring" theme to invite all participated companies to preserve the environment by designing environmentally friendly products.

This year, 203 companies and 22 car brands joined the show. Among those brands are Hyundai, Daihatsu, Honda, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Subaru, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Coinciding with the opening of the show, Toyota launched its newest fuel-efficient model, while BMW will be showcasing its new diesel technology, which produces lower emissions.

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