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Feeling Flush, Consumers Spending More on Vehicles
Irvan Tisnabudi | July 16, 2010

New cars during a motor show in Jakarta last year. Sales of passenger cars surpassed sales of lower-cost multi-purpose vehicles during the first half of the year. (EPA Photo) New cars during a motor show in Jakarta last year. Sales of passenger cars surpassed sales of lower-cost multi-purpose vehicles during the first half of the year. (EPA Photo)
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Nationwide vehicle sales soared by 76 percent during the first half of the year, with buyers increasingly opting for comfort and status over affordability as passenger cars and SUVs outsold low-end multi-purpose vehicles, the Indonesian Automotive Industries Association said.

The association, also known as Gaikindo, said vehicle sales totaled 370,000 units during the first half of the year, up from 210,000 units during the same period last year.

“The economy is getting better and Indonesian car buyers have more confidence and better purchasing power,” said Juwono Andrianto, the secretary general of Gaikindo.

Sales of multi-purpose vehicles such as the Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia declined as a percentage, adding up to 32 percent of all vehicle sales in the first half of the year, down from 48 percent during the same period last year. More expensive models such as SUVs totaled 23 percent, and sedans 15 percent.

When Indonesian car buyers were less confident in the first half of 2009, multi-purpose vehicles accounted for 48 percent of total cars sold, while SUVs took only 17 percent of sales and sedans 10 percent.

Gaikindo has projected that vehicle sales will total 555,000 this year, up from 486,000 in 2009.

However, PT Astra International, the country’s biggest car retailer, has projected total nationwide sales of 650,000 this year.

The 2010 Toyota Avanza MPV, which has a price tag between Rp 130 million and Rp 175 million ($14,000 and $19,000), is the most widely sold MPV in the nation, accounting for about 60 percent of the market share. Meanwhile the Daihatsu Xenia, the second most popular multi-purpose vehicle, is priced at between Rp 120 million to Rp 145 million, depending on model and features. It accounts for 26 percent of the market share.

PT Toyota Astra sold more than 138,000 cars in the first six months of 2010, 58 percent of which were all purpose vehicles, down from 74 percent of 83,000 units sold in the first half of 2009.

“We have seen a trend this year of customers avoiding the cheaper MPVs in favor of Toyota’s lineup of pricier cars,” said Rouli Sijabat, public relations manager for Toyota Astra.

Liong Ho, who owns the Grand Auto car dealership in the Kemayoran area of Central Jakarta, said he was seeing a similar trend.

“Throughout the year I’ve been seeing customers choose the more premium cars like they did in early 2008,” he said.

“Business was slow in 2009, and back then my customers preferred the more affordable, lower cost cars, such as the Avanzas and Xenias.”