Timor car set to penetrate Malaysian mart<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Timor Putra Nasional signed an agreement with
\na Malaysian car distributor yesterday to sell its Timor cars in
\nMalaysia, with both parties hopeful that they can compete against
\nthe highly popular and locally produced Proton Wira.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement with Triumph Rotary Sdn Bhd, Timor Putra
\nwill initially export 300 of its S515i sedans.<\/p>\n
The Malaysian distributor hopes to order 4,200 vehicles in the
\nfirst year and 6,000 vehicles in the second year of the
\nagreement.<\/p>\n
The agreement was signed by president of PT Timor Distributor
\nNasional Soemitro Soerachmad and managing director and chief
\nexecutive of the Malaysian company Marvin C.S. Yong.<\/p>\n
"We see a great opportunity for Timor in Malaysia. The
\ndecision to export was made after long consideration," Soemitro
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He denied the suggestion that Timor's poor sales in Indonesia
\nhad forced his company to look to foreign markets.<\/p>\n
Timor Putra Nasional, a newcomer in the Indonesian car
\nindustry, has the sole permit to build the "national car", a
\nfacility that entails it various tax breaks.<\/p>\n
The company is controlled by President Soeharto's youngest son
\nHutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.<\/p>\n
Currently, Timor cars are produced by KIA Motors Corps of
\nSouth Korea, prompting protest from Japan, the United States and
\nEurope.<\/p>\n
Triumph Rotary has reportedly invested Rp 15 billion (US$5.08
\nmillion) as initial investment to develop Timor sales offices in
\nthe country, which will be opened in October. The company has
\nmore than 10 years of experience as a car distributor and has 50
\noutlets and 20 service centers throughout Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Yong said he was confident of Timor's prospects because
\nMalaysia had a big market for sedans, accounting for 80 percent
\nof total car sales.<\/p>\n
Timor would be priced competitively to enable it to compete
\nagainst Proton Wira, the Malaysian national car.<\/p>\n
Foreign cars in Malaysia are subject to 164 import duty and
\nother taxes.<\/p>\n
Yong said his company had chosen Timor Putra and not Kia "in
\nASEAN spirit".<\/p>\n
PT Timor Distributor Nasional claims it has had more than 25
\npercent of the sedan market since October last year although
\nsales have not been as high as expected.<\/p>\n
With all the tax breaks, the Timor cars outpriced other sedans
\nin the same category in Indonesia by nearly 50 percent.<\/p>\n
The company had expected to sell more than 3,000 cars a month
\nbut sales have been much less. In February, only about 950 Timors
\nwere sold, a drop from 3,260 in January.<\/p>\n
Soemitro said Timor Putra had sold 21,000 cars so far and
\nblamed the government's tight monetary policy for the laggard
\nsales. (08)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/timor-car-set-to-penetrate-malaysian-mart-1447893297",
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