New vehicle sales in Indonesia declined by 12% to 74,347 units in November 2024 from 84,390 units a year earlier, according to wholesale data compiled by the local automotive industry association Gaikindo. Last month’s sales came up against already weak year-earlier volumes, after the strong rebound from the pandemic lows had fizzled out last year.
Market sentiment has weakened significantly this year, with fewer consumers committing to making large purchases. Economic growth slowed just slightly to 4.95% year-on-year in the third quarter, compared with 5.05% in the previous quarter, underpinned by higher government spending and fixed investment, while private consumption remained unchanged. Bank Indonesia left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.0% in November, after a 25 basis-point cut in October – the first cut since it began hiking in October 2023.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Indonesian vehicle market declined by 14% to 784,788 units in the first eleven months of 2024 from 920,518 in the same period of last year, with sales of passenger vehicles falling by 14% to 610,340 units while commercial vehicle sales dropped by 17% to 174,448 units.
Toyota’s sales declined by 14% to 262,315 units year-to-date (YTD); with Daihatsu also reporting a 13% drop to 149,975 units; followed by Honda with 86,350 units (-34%); Mitsubishi 65,743 units (-8%); and Suzuki 60,087 units (-18%).
Overall vehicle production in the country fell by 15% to 1,097,157 units in the eleven-month period while exports of fully-assembled vehicles dropped by 9% to 428,597 units. The association last month revised its 2024 full-year sales projection to 850,000 units in light of the recent market weakness, from its earlier forecast of 1.1 million units.
Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surged almost threefold to 33,945 units YTD, although the data for November was not complete. Most of these were Chinese models, led by Wuling with 12,400 units. BYD had sold 6,960 BEVs by the end of October, after it launched its sales operations in June.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataHyundai began selling of the locally-produced Kona Electric small SUV in July, powered by batteries produced at its local joint venture plant with LG Energy Solution, with 785 units sales reported so far.
China’s Hozon Auto began local assembly of its Neta V-II BEV in August, with the aim of achieving 60% local content, and plans to export the model to other right-hand drive markets in the region. BYD and Vietnam’s VinFast also plan to build BEV assembly plants in the country.
Earlier this year the government set a target of 50,000 BEV sales in 2024, after it extended the sales tax discount (from 11% to 1%) until the end of the year to help drive up demand and attract inward investment. It has also suspended the import duty on BEVs until the end of 2025 for companies investing in local production.
