Car sales to soar to 520,000: Gaikindo<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo)
\nsays the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North
\nSumatra, which killed at least 105,000 people in the country,
\nwill not effect car sales this year.<\/p>\n
Gaikindo expects that car sales this year will soar to about
\n520,000 units from last year's estimated 480,000 units, or about
\na 10 percent increase.<\/p>\n
\"The country's economy is expected to grow by 5 percent this
\nyear. And with a tolerable inflation and exchange rate, people
\nwill enjoy better purchasing power and affordable interest
\nrates,\" Gaikindo chairman Bambang Trisulo said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPVs) will dominate the market in 2005
\nas most Indonesians seek cars that offer plenty of foot room and
\nluggage space.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bambang said, the generally more expensive Sports
\nUtility Vehicles (SUVs) -- mostly \"crossover SUVs\" such as Ford
\nEscape and Honda CRV -- have begun to attract more buyers.<\/p>\n
\"SUV sales will grow much faster than MPV sales,\" he said,
\nadding that the number of SUVs on the streets had been limited by
\ntheir price tag of at least Rp 200 million (US$21,550).<\/p>\n
With Indonesia's income per capita at just over $1,000 a year,
\n\"affordable\" MPVs such as Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia, the
\nprice of which is less than Rp 100 million, are at the top of
\nconsumer favorites list.<\/p>\n
Gaikindo said the year 2004 was an important year for the
\ncountry's car industry as sales were estimated to have reached a
\nrecord high of around 480,000 units, marking the sector's full
\nrecovery from the devastating impact of the late 1990's economic
\ncrisis. The record was reached amid domestic security fears as
\nIndonesia held its general election in April and two-phase
\npresidential election in May and September.<\/p>\n
Total car sales as of November hit 434,743 units, surpassing
\nthe 385,000 unit full-year target set by Gaikindo.<\/p>\n
However, this good news for the industry was not so great for
\nthe Jakarta administration as studies showed that the average
\ntraveling speed in the capital is only 14.75 kilometers an hour.
\nThe sluggish pace of city traffic has also effected the economy,
\nwith traffic jam-related financial losses allegedly reaching Rp
\n41.05 billion a day.<\/p>\n
Traffic conditions have also been exacerbated by the
\nconstantly increasing number of vehicles in the city, which
\ncurrently stands at about 4.7 million -- some 1.3 million of
\nwhich are private cars.<\/p>\n
Indonesia recorded its highest car sales in 1997 with 386,691
\nunits, right before the regional economic crisis struck. Sales in
\n1998 collapsed to 68,000 units before rebounding to about 300,000
\nin 2000 and steadily climbing since.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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