The 18th Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) closed its doors to the public on Sunday 1st August amid growing optimism on the prospects for the domestic vehicle market.
Gaikindo, the automotive industry association and show organizer, reported a record 279,000 visitors to the nine-day event, compared with 242,000 in the previous year. It also announced that exhibitors booked a record IDR 2.4 trillion (USD 267million) in combined sales, up by 41% on last year.
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Association chairman Bapak Sudirman noted the increased enthusiasm for vehicles among the country’s expanding middle-class population. “This shows there is great potential for growth in Indonesia,” he added.
The domestic industry is also upbeat about the market’s prospects this year, after first-half sales exceeded 370,000 units. PT Astra International, the country’s largest vehicle distributor, has revised its overall market forecast to 700,000 this year – compared with actual sales of 486,000 in 2009. Other forecasts for this year range between 650,000 and 720,000 units.
Driving the market forward are historically low interest rates and robust business and consumer sentiment. First-half GDP growth is estimated at 5.8%, helped by a 49% jump in foreign direct investment to USD 7.8 billion and strong export growth.
Star of the show was the Mercedes-Benz SLS gull-winged sports coupe which went on sales earlier this year. But the main focus of the show was the small car segment. Ford launched the Fiesta sub-compact car, while Mazda added four-door version of the Mazda 2. Both are imported from Thailand.
Nissan previewed the Thai-made March (Micra) model, which will be produced locally by the end of the year, while GM launched the new Spark mini-car, imported from South Korea.
Tony Pugliese
