Bimantara plans to expand its passenger car lineup

Bimantara plans to expand its passenger car lineup

By Russell Williamson

FOLLOWING the sales success of the Cakra and Nenggala cars,
Bimantara plans to launch another small-medium Hyundai-derived
passenger car about the middle of next year.

Although details of the vehicle remain under wraps, given the
present market conditions and Hyundai's vehicle lineup, the car
is likely to be either the Sonata or Coupe.

The Sonata is a Honda Accord/Toyota Corona sized vehicle which
is available with a choice of two engines in its domestic South
Korean market.

The two four-cylinder DOHC beta engines of 1800cc and 2000cc
capacity are also joined by a 3000cc V6 available in some export
markets.

The car provides plenty of space inside, good performance from
the 2000cc engine with a firm yet supple suspension.

Depending on the model, the vehicle is offered with standard
equipment, including dual air bags, antilock brakes (ABS), air
conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, and remote central
locking.

While the Sonata would be a practical choice for Bimantara to
round out its existing product lineup by offering a larger, more
powerful family sedan, the Coupe -- or Tiburon as it is known in
some export markets -- would give the company an image leader.

The Hyundai Coupe is a sleek muscular looking two-door coupe
with seating for two adults in the front and two small children
in the rear.

Based on the Elantra -- or Nenggala -- sedan, the Coupe is
powered by a choice of 1800cc or 2000cc four-cylinder engines
driving the front wheels through a five-speed manual or four-
speed automatic transmission.

To make the most out of its sports car looks, the suspension
was tuned by Porsche, which has resulted in a car which maintains
excellent road manners under the harshest treatment.

The ride is on the firm side to maintain stability but is not
so harsh as to feel every small stone through the seat of your
pants.

Front discs and rear drums provide braking power on the base
car while four wheel discs with ABS are offered on the higher-
level models.

Other equipment offered, depending on the model, includes
remote central locking, dual air bags, air conditioning, leather
trim, electric windows and mirrors and a radio cassette player.

The addition of either model next year will further improve
Bimantara's fortunes and help the company build on its growing
success in the passenger car market.

Despite the drop in the overall market this year, the
president director of PT Bimantara Cakra Nusa, Jongkie Sugiarto,
said the company was not affected as badly as some might think.

He said although sales were slow for about six months, largely
due to the national car issue, since October, there has been a
slight recovery in the market and orders for Cakra had well and
truly exceeded expectations.

"Between March and October, there was uncertainty and people
were waiting to see what happened," Jongkie said.

"There was uncertainty on the consumer side as well as the
industry side, therefore, it is no wonder why the sales dropped
15 percent to 20 percent this year to about 330,000," he said.

Since Cakra was launched at the end of July, Bimantara has
taken more than 1,500 orders for the car, although Jongkie said
it would probably be able to only deliver about 1,100 by the end
of the year.

"We did not know whether people would still buy because of the
price of the Timor car. But after we launched, we had a very good
responses from the customers," Jongkie said.

"It was then hard to immediately increase the production
because of the supply from Korea and our lead time is about 4
months to 5 months," he said.

However, while the Hyundai joint venture is proving a success,
the same cannot be said for negotiations between Bimantara's
other potential automotive partner, Ford.

Jongkie said Bimantara, through its subsidiary Indonesian
Republic Motor Company (IRMC), had hoped to launch the UK-built
Escort early next year, however, slow negotiations on the joint
venture have now put that in doubt.

"There is still uncertainty about the joint venture between
Ford Motor Company and IRMC, therefore, the launch of the Escort
has to be postponed as well," Jongkie said.

Jongkie said IRMC began negotiations with Ford about two years
ago to try and get products from sources other than Japan.

He said the problem with the Japanese-sourced Laser was that
it is a rebadged Mazda 323 -- a franchise which is held in
Indonesia by Indomobil.

Jongkie said while there were a number of factors affecting
the negotiations with Ford, the Timor car issue had further
compounded the problems.

"The business plan has to be changed because when we were
talking about the business plan there was not a national car,"
Jongkie said.

"Therefore the volume has to be changed and the model has to
be changed and it was postponing or delaying the whole process of
the JV," he said.