New vehicle sales in Indonesia continued to grow in October, by 12.3% year on year to 106,050 units from 94,433, according to wholesale data compiled by industry association Gaikindo.
Third quarter GDP growth came in at just under 5.2%, slightly slower than Q2's 5.3%, underpinned by strong fixed investment and government spending growth. Household consumption growth slowed slightly, reflecting a series of interest rate hikes by the central bank which lifted its benchmark rate to 6% in November from 4.25% in April.
The vehicle market has performed remarkably well considering the economic headwinds, with cumulative 10 month sales rising by 7.2% to 962,697 units compared with 898,245 a year ago.
The commercial vehicle segment expanded by almost 19% to 229,804 units in this period, having benefited from continued investment in infrastructure and construction projects and higher international trade.
Passenger vehicle sales were up 4% to 732,893 units, helped by the introduction of popular new models over the last year or so.
Toyota's sales over the 10 month period declined by 7.9% to 293,519 units, reflecting mainly rising competition in the MPV segment, while Daihatsu was moderately better in second place with sales rising by 7.4% to 168,539.
Honda posted the sharpest decline among the major brands in this period as its sales fell 14.5% to 133,231 units while Mitsubishi Motors almost doubled volume to 123,826 units – reflecting strong demand for its Xpander compact MPV which was introduced just over a year ago.
