Honda Eyes Even More Stellar Sales Numbers in 2016
Jakarta. Honda Prospect Motor, the local unit of the Japanese car giant, targets sales growth of 8.2 percent this year, following an exceptional year for its crossover cars that helped the company outperform its bigger rivals.
The company wants to sell at least 180,000 cars in 2016, an increase from its target of 166,000 last year, said Honda marketing and after-sales director Jonfis Fandy.
The company managed to expand its sales by 9 percent last year from a year earlier, mostly driven by the success of the sport utility vehicle HR-V and the popular minivan Mobilio.
Honda rose above rivals like Toyota, Daihatsu and Suzuki, which all saw sales drop amid a 16 percent decline in national car sales, data from the Indonesia Automotive Association (Gaikindo) showed.
"We are optimistic that this year sales will improve," Jonfis said, noting that the Indonesian economy is expected to rebound and interest rates may fall further, boosting consumer purchasing power.
The government targets a gross domestic product growth of 5.3 percent this year, up from an estimated 4.7 percent last year. Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, just cut its benchmark interest rate last week by 25 basis points to 7.25 percent, hoping to encourage more loans, which will in turn boost purchasing power and economic growth.
Honda held a 16 percent share of Indonesia's car market in 2015, from 12 percent a year earlier, with Mobilio gaining the upper hand in the country's already-crowded minivan market.
Honda is the third-largest car seller in Indonesia, following Toyota and Daihatsu cars sold by Indonesia's largest car distributor Astra International, Gaikindo data showed.
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