New vehicle sales in Indonesia continued to grow in August, by 5.9% to 102,197 units from 96,460 units in the same month of last year, according to wholesale data compiled by industry association Gaikindo.
Last month's sales rise followed a 26% rebound in July – the first full working month after the annual Hari Raya holidays in June.
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Economic activity in the country picked up moderately in the second quarter to 5.3% year on year from 5.1% in the first quarter, supported by buoyant government and consumer spending and strong investment growth. This was despite rising interest rates as the Bank of Indonesia remained under pressure to defend the sliding rupiah.
Year to date (YTD), the market was 6.6% higher at 763,336 units, compared with 715,290 units in the same period of last year. Passenger vehicle sales were 3.1% higher at 583,736 units in this period, while commercial vehicle sales jumped by over 20% to 179,600 units.
Toyota's sales YTD declined by 13% to 227,579 units, mainly reflecting rising competition in the MPV segment while Daihatsu was steady in second place with sales rising 4.6% to 130,403 units.
Honda posted the sharpest decline among the major brands with sales falling 13.6% to 106,782 units while Mitsubishi Motors' sales almost doubled to 87,457 units reflecting strong demand for its Xpander compact MPV which was introduced a year ago.
