GIIAS 2017 Ends On a High Note
Jakarta. If there was weakness in Indonesia's household consumption, it was not visible at the country's largest autoshow last week.
The Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2017 reported on Monday (21/08) that temporary car sales on Aug, 10-20 reached 21,000 vehicles, or up 3 percent from last year's 20,384.
"The amount will likely increase because not all manufacturers have reported their data," Indonesian Automotive Association (Gaikindo) chairman said Yohannes Nangoi said in a statement.
The exhibition saw more than 300 brands of the automotive industry players in Indonesia, including 32 members of Gaikindo.
Among the stars of the show was Mitsubishi, which introduced its first low multipurpose vehicle, Mitsubishi Xpander, to the Indonesian market. In the first nine days of the exhibition, the manufacturer booked 4,317 orders for the car, which will compete in the country's already crowded MPV market.
Car sales in the largest economy of Southeast Asia have yet to return to double-digit growth seen in the past few years, but signs of picking up are already visible.
The car sales jumped 37.2 percent in July, compared with last year, following a 27.5 percent drop in June, in an apparent rebound after the long Idul Fitri holidays that cut office hours.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said in his state-of-the nation remark last week that the government is concerned about the lack of consumer spending, particularly in the low and middle income segment.
Yohannes said Gakindo was aware of the weak purchasing power and the exhibition's main purpose was not to sell but introduce new technologies in the automobile industry.
"We want GIIAS to be an event that shows the development of the automotive industry, both through concept vehicles and the launch of the latest cars," he said.
Several carmakers such as BMW showcased their electric cars. Japanese Suzuki introduced a team from Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta, which it sponsors to compete in an electric car competition in Japan next month.
Tags: Keywords: