Indonesia Biggest Automotive Market In ASEAN

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesia has replaced Thailand as ASEAN's biggest automotive market with car sales reaching 890,410 units in 2011.

"Thailand has been projected to restrain with a total industrial volume of 800,300 units from year to year in 2011,"  Vice President of Automotive Practice at the research company Frost & Sullivan Asia Pasifik, Vivek Vaidya, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

First Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Motor Vehicles Industry (Gaikindo) Jongkie D Sugiarto also said that Indonesia's car sales in 2011 had exceeded Thailand's.

Jongkie said Indonesia's car sales last year reached more than  894,000 units.

The increase in Indonesia's car sales in 2011, Vivek said, was not caused by the floods in Thailand.

"Even without the effects of the floods in Thailand, Indonesia's car sales are still high. The sales are already higher than  Thailand's in July last year," he said.

He projected that Indonesia would still become the biggest automotive market in ASEAN.

Vivek said the increase in passenger car sales in Indonesia in 2011 was among others caused by the increase in the growth in the demand for 4x2 segment cars along with the many demands for new models.

He said the sale of 4x2 segment cars had been increasing by 12.8 pct from year to year to 569,274 units in 2011.

The increase, he said, was mainly because the popularity of MPVs like Avanza, Xenia, Innova, Livina and APV, and city compact cars like Jazz, Yaris, and Fiesta.

And the increase has also been supported by the popularity of  minivans like Freed, Grand Max, and Alphard, and SUVs like CR-V, Rush, Terios, Fortuner, Pajero, Juke and Captiva.

Vivek said further that the increase in the number of 4X4 segment cars has also been significant by 48.1 pct from year to year to  5,682 units.

The increase in the sale of cars of the segment, he said, had been triggered by the launching of the latest models like Pajero Sport, Fortuner and Captiva, as well as fancy cars like Hummer, Jeep, Lexus and Toyota Land Cruiser.

The number of commercial cars like pickups those double cabs),  Frost & Sullivan said, has also been increasing substantially by  30 pct from year to year.

A decline in the sale of passenger cars took place only in the sale of passenger cars and buses.

The sale of passenger cars, Frost &Sullivan said, dropped 19.4 pct to 26,712 units because of the small number of new models and the many preferences of the consumers for vehicles of other types, while the sale of bu buses dropped 5.5 pct.(T007)