The most popular car in Indonesia remains the Toyota Avanza (a multipurpose vehicle, or MPV). In February 2017 a total of 12,600 Toyota Astra vehicles were sold in Southeast Asia's largest economy. This is no surprise as this vehicle has been the favorite for many years. However, the second-most popular car is now a so-called low cost green car (LCGC). This is a new phenomenon. In the second month of the year a total of 9,870 Astra Toyota Calya vehicles were sold, showing the rising popularity of the LCGC. In the remainder of the year this car type is expected to remain a "consumer darling".

The LCGC is an affordable, fuel efficient car that was introduced to the Indonesian market in late-2013 after the government had offered tax incentives to car manufacturers that meet requirements of fuel efficiency targets. These LCGC cars generally have a price tag of around IDR 120 million (approx. USD $9,000), hence attractive for the country's large (lower) middle class segment.

Based on data from the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo), a total of 183,323 cars were sold in Indonesia in the January-February 2017 period, up 5.7 percent (y/y) from car sales in the same period one year earlier. This figure is in line with our outlook for full-year 2017 car sales in Indonesia. We expect to see a 5 percent (y/y) growth to approximately 1.1 million vehicles by the end of the year. Strengthening commodity prices, accelerating macroeconomic growth, low inflation, growing infrastructure development, and the stable rupiah exchange rate are all reason to expect improving car sales in Indonesia this year.

Meanwhile, Toyota remains the clear market leader with 70,345 sold units in the first two months of the year, followed by Daihatsu (33,581), Honda (33,180), Mitsubishi (17,051), and Suzuki (15,456).

Indonesian Car Sales (CBU):

Month Sold Cars
   2013
Sold Cars
   2014
Sold Cars
   2015
Sold Cars
   2016
Sold Cars
   2017
January   96,718  103,609   94,194   85,002   86,601
February  103,278  111,824   88,740   88,208   96,722
March   95,996  113,067   99,410   94,092
April  102,257  106,124   81,600   84,770
May   99,697   96,872   79,375   88,567
June  104,268  110,614   82,172   91,488
July  112,178   91,334   55,615   61,891
August   77,964   96,652   90,537   96,282
September  115,974  102,572   93,038   92,541
October  112,039  105,222   88,408   92,106
November  111,841   91,327   86,938  100,215
December   97,706   78,802   73,264   86,573
Total 1,229,916
1,208,019 1,013,291 1,061,735

 

     2009    2010    2011     2012     2013     2014     2015     2016
Car Sales
(car units)
 486,061  764,710  894,164 1,116,230
1,229,916 1,208,019 1,013,291 1,061,735
Car Exports
(car units)
  56,669   85,769  107,932  173,368  170,907  202,273  207,691

Source: Gaikindo

Discuss