Astra to make more gasoline cars

JAKARTA : One of the early casualties of the Indonesian government's plan to raise fuel prices may be diesel-fueled cars, as PT Astra International, the country's largest automaker, plans to market more gas-powered cars.

"With the automotive diesel price now higher than premium, sales of Isuzu Panther cars might be hurt," Budi Setiadharma, president director of Astra, said in a telephone interview.

The Isuzu models, the company's main diesel brand, represent about 20 percent of Astra's sales to the local market. Astra already has plans to market gas-powered Isuzus instead, Setiadharma said.

The change comes as diesel prices soared 22 percent to exceed the price of the lowest grade of gasoline. Auto diesel costs Rp 1,890 a liter this month, compared with Rp 1,810 a liter for gasoline.

Astra is one of the few companies investors favor, ranking among Far Eastern Economic Review's five best Indonesian companies last year. The stock rose 62 percent in 2002 in rupiah terms.

"The hard part would be to change the consumer's perception that Isuzu Panther is a diesel car, unlike the Toyota Kijang which uses both, gasoline and diesel,'' Setiadharma said, referring to the best-selling car in Indonesia.--Bloomberg