Car Sales Continue Expanding in Sept, Bolster Hopes of Recovery
Jakarta. Car sales in Indonesia continued to grow in September, increasing the chance that total sales could exceed that of last year.
Domestic automobile manufacturers sold 92,000 cars last month, up 4 percent from a year earlier, data from the Indonesian Automotive Association, or Gaikindo, showed on Wednesday (12/10).
Albeit expanding at a slower pace compared to the previous months, this was the sixth consecutive month that car sales in Indonesia recorded a positive growth, bolstering hopes that the industry may be bottoming out toward a recovery.
Cumulatively, car manufacturers sold 783,000 cars in the first nine months of this year. Toyota managed to increase its market share to 54 percent from 50 percent a year ago.
Jongkie Sugiarto, Gaikindo's deputy chairman, said a combination of recovering economic growth, the release of new cheap car models and aggressive marketing at several auto shows this year has helped a lot with sales.
He said Gaikindo remained optimistic 2016 sales will reach 1.05 million cars, better than last year when sales slumped by 16 percent to one million cars.
"I think we have enough time this year to reach that target," Amelia Tjandra, marketing director at Astra Daihatsu Motor — a joint venture between Indonesia's largest car distributor and commodity conglomerate Astra International and Japan's Daihatsu Motor — said.
Astra Daihatsu has so far sold 16,000 cars thanks to its popular minivans Gran Max and Xenia as well as the low-cost green cars Ayla and Sigra.
Rival Honda Prospect Motor also expects consistent sales toward the end of the year, after booking a 29 percent increase in sales in the first nine months this year since the same period last year.
Honda sold 151,849 cars by the end of September, up from 117,720 cars a year earlier, marketing and after sales service director Jonfis Fandy said.
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