Automotive Industry Indonesia: New Player Arrives from China

For many decades Japanese cars have been dominating car sales in Indonesia and this situation is unlikely to change drastically in the years ahead. Various Western car brands tried to compete with their Japanese counterparts on this market but failed, and therefore some have shut their factories.

Read more: Why Do Japanese Cars Dominate Indonesia's Automotive Market?

Chinese car manufacturers, on the other hand, still have the spirit and are expanding to Indonesia. Sokonindo Automobile is the latest example. This company is a joint venture between Hong Kong's Sokon Group Company Limited and Indonesia's Kaisar Motorindo Industri. The joint venture has already invested USD $150 million in the construction of a car factory. Besides supplying the domestic market of Indonesia, part of output will be exported abroad, particularly to other Southeast Asian nations. As such, Indonesia has become the company's production hub for this region.

Alexander Barus, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Sokonindo Automobile, said - considering being a newcomer in Indonesia - the company will first focus on the quality of the vehicles. The vehicles will be of international standard. However, they also need to be competitively priced to be attractive for the Indonesian consumer. Sokonindo Automobile will manufacture the sport utility vehicle (SUV), multipurpose vehicle (MPV) as well as light commercial vehicles at its Indonesian plant.

Currently, Sokonindo Automobile has 30 dealers in Indonesia. However, the company targets to expand this network to 150 dealers in the next three years.

Indonesian Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto is pleased to see Sokonindo Automobile establishing its production base in Indonesia. Their manufacturing plant is another positive step in the development of Indonesia's automotive industry.

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	86,324
February	103,278	111,824	88,740	88,208	95,159
March	95,996	113,067	99,410	94,092	102,336
April	102,257	106,124	81,600	84,770	89,623
May	99,697	96,872	79,375	88,567	94,091
June	104,268	110,614	82,172	91,488	66,370
July	112,178	91,334	55,615	61,891	84,905
August	77,964	96,652	90,537	96,282	96,466
September	115,974	102,572	93,038	92,541	87,645
October	112,039	105,222	88,408	92,106	94,461
November	111,841	91,327	86,938	100,365
December	97,706	78,802	73,264	86,547
Total	1,229,916	1,208,019	1,013,291	1,061,859

^{Source: Gaikindo}

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