Kia Motors relaunched its sales operations in Indonesia in the third quarter of 2019 after an absence of almost two years.
This time around, the South Korean automaker has chosen one of the country's leading automotive groups, Indomobil Group, as its importer and distributor which it hopes will make the import process easier.
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Also, the Indonesian and South Korean governments signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in October which cuts duties on some 93% of import items entering Indonesia from South Korea. This should help make both Kia and Hyundai more competitive in this market.
Kia currently sells the Picanto and Rio passenger cars, the Sedona MPV and light commercial vehicles, all imported from South Korea. The Seltos compact SUV is set to follow in January.
Hyundai Motor last month announced plans to invest US$1.55bn in its first vehicle assembly plant in Indonesian by 2030, including product development and operation costs.
Construction was set to begin in December 2019, with commercial production scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2021 with an initial annual capacity of 150,000 units. The plant will eventually be able to build around 250,000 vehicles annually when it reaches full capacity, targeting markets throughout the region.
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