Pole Position: Indonesia Remains Largest Car Market within ASEAN
Indonesia remains the biggest market for cars in the ASEAN region. Based on the latest data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation a total of 3.16 million cars were sold in the ASEAN region in 2016. Around 33 percent of these total sales occurred in Indonesia, the largest economy among ASEAN countries. In 2016 a total of 1.06 million vehicles were sold in Indonesia. On second place came Thailand with 768,788 sold cars. However, in terms of car production, Thailand remains on pole position in the ASEAN region.
In 2016 car manufacturers in Thailand produced 1.94 million vehicles, hence accounting for nearly 50 percent of all car manufacturing in ASEAN. It is a figure that is much higher compared to Indonesia. Indonesia only managed to produce 1.17 million cars in full-year 2016.
Kukuh Kumara, Secretary General of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo), says it will require hard work for Indonesia to surpass Thailand in terms of car production figures. Currently, Indonesia is primarily dependent on foreign investment from car manufacturers, especially from Japan, for the establishment of onshore production facilities. Moreover, Indonesia also needs to develop car components industries that can support the car manufacturing industry.
Read more: Overview of Indonesia's Automotive Industry
For the long-term car sales are expected to remain strong in Indonesia as per capita car ownership is low while the economy is expected to grow robustly, implying people's purchasing power strengthens.
Car Sales in ASEAN:
| Country | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Thailand |
881,832 | 799,632 | 768,788 |
| Indonesia | 1,208,019 | 1,013,291 | 1,061,735 |
| Malaysia | 666,465 | 666,674 | 580,124 |
| Philippines | 234,747 | 288,609 | 359,572 |
| Vietnam | 133,588 | 209,267 | 270,820 |
| Singapore | 47,443 | 78,609 | 110,455 |
| Brunei | 18,114 | 14,406 | 13,248 |
| ASEAN | 3,190,208 | 3,070,488 | 3,164,742 |
Source: ASEAN Automotive Federation
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