Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Car Industry

  • Indonesia as ASEAN's Low Cost Green Car Production Base Meets Opposition

    With the development of a production hub for low cost green cars (LCGCs), Indonesia hopes to become the leading car producer within the group of ASEAN nations. Total car sales in ASEAN in 2012 surpassed the three million cars mark. The two largest contributors to these sales were Thailand (1.3 million sold cars) and Indonesia (1.1 million). Currently, Thailand is still the largest car production hub in the ASEAN region, both in terms of production rate and domestic sales (despite having only 60 million citizens to Indonesia's 240 million).

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  • Indonesian Car Sales Rise due to Discount Actions but May Fall in 2013

    A discount war ahead of Lebaran, the traditional celebration that follows after the holy fasting month of Ramadan is finished and when many Indonesians go back to their place of origin for a few days, is expected to spur car sales in July. It is a normal phenomenon that car sales increase ahead of Lebaran because an amount of people need a new car to carry them back to their places of birth. But this year the increase in car sales is expected to exceed sales figures in previous years as wholesalers use discount actions to reduce their car stockpiles.

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  • Indonesia's Automotive Sector: Growing Car Sales and Subsidized Fuel Quota

    Indonesia's government expects expenditure on subsidized fuels in 2014 to amount between IDR 190-220 trillion (USD $19.2 to 22.2 billion). A high official at Indonesia's Finance Ministry, Robert Pakpahan, said that the assumption is based on a subsidized fuel quota of 48 to 51 million kiloliters and an Indonesian crude oil price of USD $100-115 per barel. Despite having raised the price of subsidized gasoline by 44 percent last week, it means that both volume quota and total expenditure on fuel subsidies will rise in 2014.

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  • Indomobil Sukses Internasional: Strong Player in Indonesia's Car Industry

    Indomobil Sukses Internasional is - aside from Astra International - the leading Indonesian company in the country's automotive industry. Indomobil, established in 1976, is an integrated automotive business group which gains most of its revenues through its automotive business segment. Indomobil distributes various well-known international brands in Indonesia. These include Audi, Nissan, Renault, Suzuki, Volkswagen, and Volvo vehicles. With total Indonesian car sales reaching a record high in 2012, the company is engaged in a lucrative industry.

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  • Car and Motorcycle Sales of Astra International Grow over Eight Percent

    Astra International, one of the largest diversified conglomerates and the dominating force in Indonesia's automobile industry, sold 268,072 cars in the first five months of 2013. Total car units sold in the same period stands at 497,670, which implies that Astra has a market share of 54 percent. Sales in January-May 2013 grew 8.47 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Astra's motorcycles sales grew 11.6 percent to 1,974,274 units. As such, Astra, which sells the Honda brand, has a 60 percent market share in Indonesia's motorcycle industry.

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  • Indonesia Still the Second Largest Car Sales Market in the ASEAN Region

    Regarding car sales in the ASEAN region, Indonesia still trails behind Thailand according to recent data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF). In the first two months of 2013, Thailand's car sales increased 51.9 percent (YoY) to 255,727 car units, while Indonesia's car sales only increased 22.7 percentage points to 199,974 vehicles. Thailand controls about 43.5 percent of the ASEAN region's sales market. Indonesia comes in on second place with 34.0 percent market share.

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  • Indonesia's Car Sales Q1-2013 Solid; Astra International's Market Share Falls

    Indonesian car sales in Q1-2013 rose 17.8 percent to 295,465 units from 250,830 units in the same quarter last year. Astra International, one of the biggest conglomerates in Indonesia and the dominating force in Indonesia's automotive industry, had to hand in a couple of percentage points in terms of market share in domestic car sales. In Q1-2013, Astra controlled 52.3 percent of Indonesia's car sales, down from 58 percent in Q1-2012.

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  • Indonesia's Car Industry Continues Strong Growth in Q1-2013

    Indonesia's demand for cars stayed strong as the first quarter of 2013 saw double-digit growth in car sales compared to the same period last year. According to Gaikindo (the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association), Indonesia posted an 18 percent growth in car sales in Q1-2013, which translates to 297,785 car units sold in this year's first quarter. However, Gaikindo believes that growth for full-year 2013 will be limited or equal to last year's record sales performance.

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  • Toyota Continues its Leading Market Position in Indonesia's Car Sales

    During 2012, more than 400,000 Toyota vehicles were sold on the Indonesian market, a new record-high. This number makes Indonesia the fourth-largest market for Japan-based Toyota Motor Corporation. Indonesia has developed from a production hub into a major sales market, and therefore the Japanese company intends to invest about IDR 13 trillion (US $1.3 billion) in the next five years.

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Latest Columns Car Industry

  • Growth of Indonesian Car Sales Falls amid Slowing Economic Expansion

    Amid Indonesia’s slowing economic growth as well as looming higher prices of subsidized fuels (which will cause accelerated inflation and declining purchasing power), domestic car sales in Indonesia have fallen 6.3 percent to 104,916 units in October 2014 from the same month last year according to preliminary data from the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo). Cumulatively, car sales reached 1.04 million units in the first ten months of 2014, a slight 1.6 percentage point increase from the same period last year.

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  • Impact of Higher Subsidized Fuel Prices on Indonesia’s Car Industry

    After Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have confirmed that prices of subsidized fuels (gasoline and diesel) will be raised in November 2014 in an attempt to ease the country’s wide current account deficit and government budget deficit (which are primarily caused by costly oil imports), domestic car manufacturers and dealers are expected to post declining earnings in 2015. Besides the subsidized fuel price issue, Indonesia’s car industry is also negatively impacted by the country’s slowing economic growth.

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  • Update Indonesian Car Industry: Car Sales Declined 8% in May 2014

    Car sales in Indonesia declined 8 percent to 98,198 units in May 2014 from 106,811 units in the previous month. The Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) said that the decline was the direct consequence of several public holidays (International Labour Day and the commemorations of Buddha’s birthday as well as ascensions of Prophet Muhammad and Jesus Christ). These holidays caused a lower car production rate and a reduced number of car deliveries to wholesale dealers.

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  • Car Sales in Indonesia Unaffected by Weather Conditions in January 2014

    Despite higher car prices due to the depreciating rupiah exchange rate, domestic car sales in Indonesia rose 11 percent to 107,496 in January 2014 compared to the same month last year. January sales were particularly supported by sales of the low cost green car (LCGC) and low multipurpose vehicle (LMPV). Both these car types enjoy high popularity in Indonesia. In 2013, the Indonesian government provided tax incentives for the establishment of a domestic LCGC industry.

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  • Expansion of Indonesia's Automotive Industry: Raising Exports to Asia

    Indonesia's automotive industry experienced some drastic changes in recent years. Originally regarded as a mere production hub due to cheap productions costs (particularly wages), it changed into a major car sales market as per capita GDP continues to grow and gives rise to an expanding middle class. Since 2011, domestic car sales in Indonesia have reached record highs and given that the country's per capita car ownership is still relatively low, there is room for more growth. But Indonesia is also eager to become an important car exporting country.

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  • Indonesia Attracts Investments in Car Components Worth USD $1.5B

    In 2014, Indonesia is expected to see capital inflow of between USD $1 billion and USD $1.5 billion of funds for investments in the country's car components industry. About 20 to 30 companies are eager to expand or start business in this sector of Southeast Asia's largest economy (each investing about USD $50 million). Indonesia's car industry is attractive due to record high car sales in recent years (triggered by strong domestic GDP per capita growth) as well as double-digit export growth (although coming from a low base).

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  • Popular Low Cost Green Car Boosts Indonesian Car Sales in 2013

    Indonesian car sales have already exceeded the one million mark in October 2013. In the January-October period, 1,018,786 car units were sold, a ten percent increase compared to car sales in the same period last year. Growing demand for cars in Indonesia indicates that this sector of Southeast Asia's largest economy is not influenced by current negative market sentiments, such as the sharply depreciated Indonesian rupiah exchange rate (against the US dollar), high inflation (8.32 percent yoy in October 2013), and slowing economic growth.

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  • Indonesian Automotive Industry: Car Sales Expected to Hit Record in 2013

    Car sales in Indonesia are expected to exceed the target set by the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) in 2013. The institution originally set a target of 1.1 million sold car vehicles in 2013, which is similar to the sales result in 2012. However, in September 2013 car sales recorded a new monthly record (115,921 sold units) after consumers sped up car sales as prices will increase in October. Up to the third quarter of 2013, total car sales have increased 11.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

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  • Analysis: Indonesia's Car Sales Rising but May Fall in Second Half 2013

    In recent years, Indonesia's car sales have shown robust growth, culminating in a record high number of 1.12 million sold car units in 2012. This is an important statistic because car sales inform us about the state of the economy. Generally, rising car sales indicate an expanding economy while declining car sales indicate that the economy is slowing down. When we take a look at the table below, there is a link visible between Indonesia's GDP growth and rising car sales, except for 2011 to 2012 when GDP growth declined while car sales rose.

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  • Analysis: Car Sales in Indonesia Strong in First Four Months of 2013

    Indonesian car sales in the first four months of 2013 continued its robust growth. Preliminary data from Agen Pemegang Merek (Brand Holder Agent or APM) indicates that from January to April of 2013 397,991 car units were sold in Indonesia, which constitutes a 17.75 percent increase compared to the first four months of 2012. Toyota retained its position as market leader with a market share of 35.9 percent. However, sales of Honda and Suzuki vehicles are growing fast in Indonesia.

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