Bimantara Citra to go ahead with national car plan
By Russell Williamson
Bimantara is expected to go ahead with the production of a national car to rival the Timor car.
Although there has been no official confirmation of the project, several Asian newspapers have reported that the president of PT Bimantara Citra, Bambang Trihatmodjo, has announced the project will proceed.
The company is also in the process of building a new factory at Bekasi, which could be used to build the new car.
The development of the Bimantara project would pit Bambang against his younger brother, Hutomo Mandala Putra, who is developing his own national car through PT Timor Putra Nasional.
While Timor Putra has been granted massive tax concessions to help its vehicle development program, it remains unlikely that the same tax breaks will be made available to Bimantara.
Earlier this month, Minister for Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo confirmed that Timor Putra would be the only company to receive the concessions for at least three years.
However, it is expected that Bimantara will go ahead with its vehicle development plans with or without the tax incentives.
The company, through its subsidiary PT Citramobil Nasional -- a joint venture with the South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Corporation -- is already assembling and producing the Hyundai Elantra sedan.
With such close ties already in place, it is likely that Bimantara's national car will be based on Hyundai's smaller sedan, the Accent.
The Accent was first launched in Korea in April 1994 and has been extremely successful in both its domestic market and export market.
As a small four-door sedan, the car has a good looking rounded edge to it and is able to remain distinctive in a crowd.
Photographs don't appear to do the car justice as it generally looks better on the road than on paper where it appears slab- sided and poorly proportioned.
Inside, the cabin is fresh, with the rounded theme continued on the dashboard, console and fittings. Bright colors for the seat and door trim fabrics lift the cabin ambience and interior plastics and trims are of good quality.
Indeed, the overall quality of the Accent shows evidence of the company's zeal in upgrading the way it builds cars. Paint depth and gloss, panel fit and general body tightness are all comparable to the high standards set by Japanese carmakers.
Under the bonnet is Hyundai's own four-cylinder 1.5-liter Series II Alpha engine, which produces 65kW at 5,500 rpm with 104Nm of torque at just 2,700 rpm, running on unleaded fuel.
The Alpha II engine is well mated to the car and is notable for its instant response and excellent pulling power.
It is smooth and delivers its power progressively, while delivering excellent fuel economy.
The only complaints from the driver's seat are the too-light steering, although it feels fine on-center; the notchy, long- throw gearshift; and the close-spaced floor pedals.
The suspension comprises an independent link-type system at the rear to match the MacPherson strut front end and provides an unexpectedly good ride.
If the national car project goes ahead, Bimantara would be hoping to aim for a high degree of local content in the car.
However, with the small number of Indonesian manufacturers capable of supplying passenger car components, like the Timor cars, the first models would probably remain reasonably faithful to their South Korean origins.