- The 18th Indonesia Auto Show opened last week.
- BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan are all displaying new cars.
- The Indonesian auto market is enjoying elevated sales compared to last year.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The 18th Indonesia Auto Show got underway on Friday amid an upbeat mood as the domestic market heads for its best year yet in 2010. New-vehicle sales in the country exceeded 370,000 units in the first half of 2010, compared with 210,579 units a year earlier — at the height of the global financial crisis.
Ford Motor (Indonesia) spokesman Davy Tuilan suggested that the overall market may go as high as 720,000 units in 2010, compared with 486,000 in 2009. Others are more cautious, given that interest rates may be hiked later this year.
The country's largest vehicle distributor, PT Astra International, last month forecast the market to reach 650,000 units by year's end.
Mercedes-Benz stole the show's highlights with the gullwinged SLS sport coupe and was happy to report a total of 25 sales since its launch earlier this year. The company also showcased the E-Class cabriolet and a refurbished V-Class model — launched to challenge the dominance of the Toyota Alphard in the full-size minivan segment.
Mercedes-Benz spokesman Yanik Cantieni said, "We have chosen this year to focus on our more exotic and niche products, rather than displaying models seen day to day on the streets of Jakarta."
BMW decided to raise its profile at the show this year amid rebounding premium car sales. The company displayed its new 5 Series model, which went on sale in the previous month.
Small cars were also a key focus at the show, with Ford launching its Thai-made Fiesta hatchback and revealing 500 pre-launch orders. The sedan version is expected to hit this market next year. Mazda launched its version of the subcompact car, the Mazda 2, in the country at the end of last year — and followed up with the launch of the sedan version at the show.
Nissan displayed the Thai-made March subcompact and confirmed that local assembly of the model would begin toward the end of the year. Also on display was the Nissan Juke compact SUV, which is scheduled to go into production in 2012, according to a company insider.
Nissan last month announced a $20 million expansion program designed to double output to around 50,000 units by 2013, and to quadruple sales to around 100,000 units. It aims to lift its share of the local passenger vehicle market to around 10 percent from 5-6 percent at present.
Chevrolet launched the new Spark minicar, which it imports from South Korea, while Hyundai launched its new Tucson SUV here.
Inside Line says: Things are looking good in the Indonesia market. — Tony Pugliese, Correspondent
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