New vehicle sales in Indonesia rose by 1.5% to 86,300 units in January, from weak year-earlier sales of 85,000 units, according to data from industry sources.
This follows a 4.7% rise to 1,061,100 units last year – up from 1,013,300 units in 2015 after two years of decline. Last year's rise reflects a slight improvement in economic growth, with a series of interest rate cuts by the central bank helping to drive up domestic consumption.
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New models also helped drive market demand last year, including replacements for the popular Toyota Innova and Avanza MPVs in the second half of 2015 and the new generation Fortuner full-size SUV early in 2016.
In the third quarter of last year, Toyota introduced a new compact MPV, the Sienta, and a seven seat variant of its Agya low-cost green car (LCGC) – the Cayla. Recent models from Daihatsu and Honda also helped drive up sales last year.
January market weakness continued despite the release of some important new models in recent months by key automakers such as Toyota, Daihatsu and Honda, including full-model replacements for the Toyota Avanza and Innova and the launch of the Honda BRV.
GDP growth last year came in at 4.7%, held back by sluggish domestic economic growth and weak exports.
