Car dealers plan more price rises due to weak rupiah
JAKARTA (JP): A number of car dealers in the capital are planning to raise their prices again soon because of the falling value of the rupiah, which has depreciated by more than 8 percent over the past month.
Even with higher prices, however, most buyers of popular makes will still have to wait several months before taking delivery of their vehicles.
Robert Sjahrir, a marketing executive at the Auto 2000 showroom chain on Jl. Sudirman, said prices of Toyota Kijangs would rise by an average of Rp 3 million next month.
This means that a Kijang GL, the most popular vehicle in the Kijang range, will cost Rp 136.47 million.
Robert said the company planned to increase Kijang prices by a further Rp 3 million in October.
Yudistira of Astrido Toyota showroom in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, said the price of a Soluna, made by Toyota, will be increased by about Rp 4 million from Rp 129 million in August.
He was upbeat that in spite of the increases demand would remain strong, evidenced by the months of waiting buyers must endure between placing their orders and receiving their cars.
A customer who buys a Kijang today will receive it in September, while the waiting list for a Soluna is six months.
Yudistira said Toyota last raised its prices in June after the rupiah broke the Rp 8,000 level against the dollar, the rate then used then to calculate prices. The rupiah fell to a 21-month low of Rp 9,580 on Thursday.
PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Movtors, the sole distributor of Mitsubishi cars, plans to increase its prices next month but it has yet to decide on the amount.
Hamdi, a marketing executive at the firm, said Krama Yudha's sales were dominated by Kuda, Pajero and Fuso Tronton trucks and Colt pickups.
PT Astra Daihatsu Motor, the sole agent for Daihatsu, said it would closely watch the fluctuations of the rupiah before deciding on whether or not to increase its prices.
Dedi Irwan Kusuma of the public relations office said any decision to increase prices, which would affect the popular Taruna van, would also depend on market conditions.
"The competition is getting tougher with the arrival of imported CBU (completely built-up) cars," Dedi said.
Dealers selling Honda, Isuzu, Nissan, and KIA said they had not decided on any increases but did not rule out the possibility.
Tunas Opel showroom in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, said it had increased the cost of its Blazer Montera by Rp 2 million this month and was not considering further increases anytime soon.
Tunas BMW on Jl. Kapten Tendean, South Jakarta, said it had raised its prices across the range by an average of 3 percent last month.
Many general car importers say they are not buying any new cars until they had sell all their existing stocks.
"We will probably increase prices by 10 percent, still affordable for our customers," said Dewny H of JSB Motor at Kemayoran Car Market. The firm sells Land Cruisers for Rp 875 million, VW Beetles (Rp 450 million) and Lexuses (Rp 1.06 billion).
A Peugeot showroom in Kelapa Gading said it planed to increase its range of imported CBU Peugeots by 5 percent next month.
Meanwhile, used cars dealers are finding the going tough in a tight market dominated by sales of new cars.
Yana of Baruna Motor showroom on Jl. Fatmawati in South Jakarta said that this month there had been more sellers than buyers of secondhand cars.
"They (the sellers) probably need the money to send their children to school or to take long vocations, or even to buy new cars," Yana said.
She said dealers may be forced to cut prices by up to 5 percent if market conditions worsen next month. (07)