New vehicle sales in Indonesia increased by 24.4% to 69,300 in February, from 55,688 units a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by industry association Gaikindo.
Compared with the previous month’s sales, the market in February was 6% lower – reflecting fewer working days in the month.
The continued strong growth in vehicle demand reflects a economy, with which grew by 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010, driven by domestic consumption. The government expects first-quarter growth to be around 6.5%
Bank of Indonesia has also been reluctant to raise interest rates for fear of derailing the current strong growth momentum, despite strongly inflation data in recent months.