New vehicle sales in Indonesia drifted lower in April, with deliveries to dealers declining by just under 14.1% to 102,256 units from 89,590 units in the same month of last year, according to data compiled by industry association Gaikindo.
Last month’s sharp rise follows two months of lacklustre sales, reflecting sluggish economic growth at just over 5% in the first quarter of 2018. Deliveries to dealers are likely to have been brought forward ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which began in mid-May.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Bank Indonesia also responded to the weakening rupiah in May with its first interest hike in four years, of 25 basis points to 4.5%.
All the main segments of the market enjoyed strong growth in April, with sales of light passenger vehicles rising by 11.6% to 78,763 units while commercial vehicle sales were up by almost 24% at 23,494 units.
Total vehicle sales in the first four months of 2018 increased by 5.8% to 394,921 units from 373,348 units in the same period of last year.
Toyota reported a more than 19% drop in sales to 113,854 units in the four month period as its key Avanza compact MPV model came under increasing pressure from the recently launched Mitsubishi Xpander.
Honda has been hit hardest by rising competition from Mitsubishi, however, with its sales falling by over 21% to 53,274 units in the same period, while Daihatsu’s sales rose by 8% to 70,476 units; Mitsubishi sales jumped by almost 59% to 53,899 units; and Suzuki sales were up by 18.2% at 40,860 units.
