New vehicle sales in Indonesia expanded by 14% to 69,219 units in May 2026, up from weak year-earlier sales of 60,697 units, according to wholesale data compiled by the local automotive industry association, Gaikindo. The market was driven by strong demand for light- and medium-duty commercial vehicles and for battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
In the first five months of 2026, the country’s vehicle market expanded by almost 13% to 359,015 units from weak year-earlier sales of 318,344 units, with sales of light passenger vehicles rising by 6% to 266,083 units, while commercial vehicle sales surged by 37% to 93,012 units. BEV sales more than doubled to over 62,700 units, up from 30,150 units in the same period a year earlier, supported by tax incentives and driven by a rising number of Chinese brands.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The vehicle market this year has been supported by a pick-up in economic growth, with GDP growth accelerating to 5.6% year-on-year in the first quarter compared with 5.4% growth in the fourth quarter of last year. Private consumption growth accelerated to 5.5% from 5.1%, supported by strong consumer sentiment. Bank Indonesia hiked its benchmark interest rate twice in the last month, from 4.75% to 5.50%, reversing two years of monetary loosening from a peak of 6.25% to tackle rising inflation and a rapidly depreciating rupiah.
Toyota continued to lead the vehicle market in the first five months of the year, with sales rising by almost 5% to 111,119 units, while Daihatsu sales increased by 8% to 59,420 units after falling sharply last year. Suzuki’s sales surged by 36% to 30,262 units, following the release of new models over the last year, while Mitsubishi reported a 9% sales increase to 28,445 units, Honda’s sales continued to plunge, by 36% to 18,271 units.
BYD’s sales rose by 50% to 17,993 units year-to-date, with deliveries declining sharply last month as competition from rival Chinese brands continued to surge, while its Denza brand saw its sales fall by 40% to 2,369 units. Chery’s sales surged by 155% to 20,889 units, thanks to a strong performance by its newly-launched Jaecco brand.
Overall vehicle production in the country rose by 9.5% to 504,020 units year-to-date, while exports of fully assembled vehicles rose by almost 8% to 207,222 units.
GlobalData has upgraded its Indonesia market forecast following the strong sales performance year-to-date, driven by strong first-quarter economic growth. Light vehicle sales are now expected to fall slightly to 747,000 units in 2026, from 750,000 units in 2025, followed by a slight increase to 752,000 units in 2027.
