Exports of Indonesia's Automotive Sector Grow 10.4% in First Quarter 2014
The national automotive industry of Indonesia recorded export growth of 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014 (year-on-year). Statistics Indonesia said that exports in the automotive industry (which includes automobiles and motorcycles) were worth USD $1.27 billion in the first three months of the year, compared to USD $1.15 billion in the same period in 2013. However, the automotive industry of Indonesia only contributes 3.49 percent to the country's total non-oil & gas exports.
The Industry Ministry predicts that Indonesian car exports will reach 200,000 units in 2014. This includes 6000 to 7000 units of Astra International's low-cost green car (LCGC) Toyota Agya which will be shipped to the Philippines. If this prediction is true, it means that Indonesian car exports will have increased by about 17 percent from 170,907 car units in 2013.
Destry Damayanti, Chief Economist at Bank Mandiri, believes that the energy efficient and cheap four-wheeled motor vehicles (LCGCs) should be able to become the backbone of Indonesia's automotive exports. "However, it is wise to choose lucrative emerging markets as export destination countries," Damayanti said.
The Trade Ministry projects that automotive export earnings in 2014 will reach USD $4.5 billion, while imports are expected at USD $2.5 billion. This thus results in an expected trade surplus of around USD $2 billion in the country's automotive sector.