New sedans hit highway<\/p>\n
I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's automotive market has had a good
\nstart to the year with favorable sales so far. The first half of
\nthe year saw car manufacturers introducing new sedans to the
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
Based on data from the Indonesian Automotive
\nAssociation (Gaikindo), over 140,000 cars were sold in
\nthe first five months of the year. The figure is 8 percent
\nhigher than that of sales during the same period last year. Out
\nof a total of 140,769 cars sold in the January-May
\nperiod, 13,000 cars were sedans.<\/p>\n
But while total car sales have increased
\nsince 2000, sale of sedan's has gradually
\ndecreased. The Data provided by Gaikindo indicates
\nthat total car sales in Indonesia reached 300,964 in 2000,
\n299,558 in 2001 and 317,747 last year. However, sedan sales
\ndeclined from 46,891 in 2000 to 35,226 in 2001 and only 26,684 in
\n2002.<\/p>\n
According to the data, the sedan's share of the market has
\nalso plunged from 20.6 percent in 2000 to 17.6 percent
\nin 2001 and to only 13.2 percent of the market in 2002.<\/p>\n
Despite these figures car manufacturers continue to launch new
\nmodels of the sedan in Indonesia as they believe that
\nIndonesian's are still interested in driving sedans and the
\nmarket has a profitable future.<\/p>\n
Car manufacturers, with only a small share of the market, favor
\nthe sedan as a stock vehicle considered to have a favorable
\nfuture.<\/p>\n
Wenda Wonoseputro, president of PT Car and Car Indonesia, the
\nauthorized distributor of Volkswagen in Indonesia, admitted that
\nVolkswagen (or VW) holds a limited share of the market in
\nIndonesia.
\nBut there are still people eager to own VW cars such
\nas the Polo, the Passat and the Beetle.<\/p>\n
"VW's market share is very low in Indonesia as the
\ncars are imported completely built
\nup,(CBU), while other cars are incompletely manufactured and
\ncompleted in Indonesia," she said, adding that VW was about to
\nlaunch the new Beetle Cabriolet later this month.<\/p>\n
She said her company had sold 80 cars in the first
\nhalf of the year, mostly Golf and Polo sedans.<\/p>\n
Gaikindo has classified the sedan
\naccording to the capacity of its engine, It divides the sedan
\nmarket into three segments: the lower segment
\n1,800cc), the middle segment (1,800cc-3000cc), and
\nthe upper segment (3,000cc). The lowest category of
\nsedan usually equates to mini and small car types, the
\nmiddle, includes low and high sedans and the
\nluxury, premium sedans, are generally in the upper
\nbracket.<\/p>\n
The sale of smaller sedans in Indonesia is monopolized by
\nToyota, Suzuki and Honda, who share
\nabout 75 percent of the market. Other manufacturers
\nselling an increasing number of Sedans of this type include KIA
\nand Hyundai.<\/p>\n
Major players in the middle class of the market include the BMW 3
\nSeries, the Honda Civic, the Mercedes Benz C class, the Toyota
\nAltis and the Camry. Other contenders are Ford, Peugeot,
\nand Audi's A3, VW's Golf, the Mitsubishi Lancer
\nand the Nissan Sentra.<\/p>\n
Mitsubishi's new Lancer (1.8 SEi CVT) is stylishly designed
\nwith a sleek and attractive exterior and luxurious interior, its
\npowerful performance and contemporary features make it a pleasure
\nto drive. The car comes in two models, the SEi Limited CVT
\n(1800cc) and GLXi (1600cc).<\/p>\n
Luxury and premium sedans include the BMW 5 Series and 7 series,
\nthe Mercedes Benz E and S classes, the Volvo S60 and S80, the
\nAudi A6, the Toyota Crown, the Nissan Infinity and Cefiro, the
\nJaguar S and X, the VW Passat and the Saab 9-5.<\/p>\n
The S60 2.3 Turbo is a Volvo that lives up its manufacturers
\nstandards, offering luxury at an affordable price.
\nVolvo has added new features and enhanced earlier designs to
\nproduce a sensational new model.<\/p>\n
If the S60 isn't what you're looking for, the S80 has already
\nbeen launched and is for sale in showrooms. The S80 is the top of
\nthe range Volvo sedan on the market. Its full-size, luxurious
\nand innovative design and safety features should put it at the
\ntop end of the price range. But despite its advanced performance
\nand the best of Volvo's safety features, the cost of the S80 is
\nvery reasonable.<\/p>\n
The demand for mini and small cars is the most stable area in
\nsedan sales. Mini and small cars are always popular in Indonesia
\nand manufacturers compete to introduce new models on a regular
\nbasis.<\/p>\n
This year, three major car manufacturers: Toyota, Honda and
\nSuzuki launched new mini-cars, the Toyota Vios, the All
\nNew Honda City and the Suzuki Baleno Next-G. Hyundai also
\nproduced the Verna.<\/p>\n
At the top of the market the Toyota Vios comes in both
\nmanual and automatic and is powered by a INZ-FE
\n4-cylinder, in-line, DOHC, VVT-i, 16-valve engine,
\nwhich is able to produce a maximum of 109
\nhorsepower at 6,000 revs per minute and a maximum torque
\nof 142 Newton-meters at 4,200 rpm.<\/p>\n
The new Suzuki Baleno and Honda City have components to match
\nToyota's. Competition is fierce in the mini-car market and the
\nprice of the cars is set around the same mark (under Rp 170
\nmillion) an attractive deal in terms of the sophisticated
\nfeatures the cars offer.<\/p>\n
Last year, out of 26,684 sedans sold, 14,317
\nwere mini-cars. In 2001, out of 35,226 sold sedan, more
\nthan 26,000 were mini-cars.<\/p>",
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