Suzuki Launches Celerio Hatchback in Crowded City-Car Segment
Jakarta. Suzuki Indomobil Sales, the sole distributor of the Japanese car brand in Indonesia, launched on Saturday its latest city car model, the Celerio, in a bid to replicate its success in the commercial car segment to the robust market for city cars.
The Celerio, which retails from Rp 146 million ($10,900) in the Greater Jakarta area, will go up against established competitors such as the Honda Brio, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan March.
Davy J. Tuilan, the deputy managing director at Suzuki Indomobil Sales, acknowledged the crowded field for subcompact hachbacks and the slowing domestic car market in general this year, saying the company had not set any target for Celerio sales.
“When we decided to introduce the Celerio in Indonesia, we targeted the Celerio to be an image maker, not a volume maker,” Davy said on the sidelines of the car launch at the Jakarta Fair in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
He said Suzuki had built a "positive" image for its commercial vehicles among Indonesian customers. “We hope to replicate that image with our city cars, in terms of durability, price point and functionality,” Davy said.
Suzuki Indomobil Sales imports the completely built-up Celerio from the Japanese carmaker's plants in Thailand.
City cars, an industry euphemism for really small cars, is a relatively robust segment of Indonesia’s vehicle market, thanks to the introduction of the so-called low-cost-green car program in 2013 – under which the government waives the luxury tax for manufacturers who build stripped-down, underpowered cars.
City car sales fell 3.2 percent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers Association (Gaikindo), less than the overall car market which shrank 16 percent in the same period as Indonesia experienced its slowest economic expansion since 2009.
Suzuki trails its Japanese rivals Toyota, Daihatsu and Honda in Indonesia car market, but is ahead of Mitsubishi and Nissan.
Suzuki Indomobil Sales is a unit of Suzuki Indomobil Motor, the sole agent for Suzuki and a joint venture between the Japanese manufacturer and listed car distributor Indomobil Sukses International. Suzuki Motor controls a 93.4 percent in Suzuki Indomobil Motor.
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