Bimantara to operate new car plant next year

JAKARTA (JP): The Bimantara Group's automotive division and South Korea's Hyunday Motor Company will start operating a car assembly plant in Purwakarta, West Java, next year.

Jongkie D. Sugiarto, the president of PT Bimantara Cakra Nusa, said yesterday the 120-hectare plant would have the capacity to assemble 100,000 cars a year.

"The joint venture, PT Bimantara Hyunday Indonesia, plans to produce cars with 60 percent of the components made locally," Jongkie said.

He said the new plant was scheduled to assemble between 20,000 and 30,000 new brand cars which would be launched by the end of next year. He refused to elaborate about the new cars.

The project had a US$400 million initial investment, he said.

PT Bimantara Cakra Nusa, a subsidiary of the Bimantara Group, now assembles local brand cars -- Bimantara Cakra and Bimantara Nenggala -- in cooperation with Hyunday Korea at its Bekasi plant.

The company plans to increase the use of local components from 17.2 percent to 20 percent for both Cakra and Nenggala, he said.

Jongkie said about 2,000 Nenggala and Cakra cars were sold last year.

Bimantara plans to increase production to 10,000 cars this year, he said.

He estimated sales for the two cars -- Nenggala and Cakra -- would increase to between 6,000 and 7,000 units this year because 1300cc to 1600cc sedan sales are expected to increase 15 to 20 percent.

"We are aiming to sell between 150 and 200 of Nenggala a month this year," he said. In January 182 units were sold.

Last year Bimantara Group started building a 500-hectare Bimantara Automotive Industrial Estate on the same plot.

The project is designed to house about 12 car component, motorcycle component and motorcycle makers, a dry port, a warehouse and other public facilities. (02)