Car makers optimistic about local market

Car makers optimistic about local market

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A number of automobile manufacturers have begun launching their
new products here and are optimistic they will be able to garner
enough sales despite the current weak state of the economy and
security problems.

"It's the right time to put out more new products. I believe
the country is going to rebound quite shortly. We understand
there are problems ... but these are not stopping us from being
very successful," PT General Motors Indonesia president Luis F.F.
Madaleno told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the launching
of GM's new Chevrolet Tavera van.

Luis said that the Chevrolet Tavera was only one of a series
of products that would be launched this year.

Patrick Debrot, marketing and sales vice president of French
automaker Renault SA, shared this view, adding that his firm's
alliance with Japan's Nissan Motor Co Ltd would provide an edge
in penetrating the local market.

"It will support the wholesaling of Renault products in
Indonesia and we see that Indonesia is a potential market for our
products," Patrick told a media briefing on Wednesday.

Renault's frontline products come within the small-car segment
-- the Clio and Kangoo -- and the monospace segment in the form
of the Scenic, which have been quite successful in Asia Pacific
countries.

The optimism was also shared by German car producer Audi,
which has just recently launched its sport cars -- the Audi A3
1.8 T and Audi A6, targeting young professionals.

Wiwi Ho, chief executive officer of PT Garuda Mataram Motor,
the sole distributor of Audi cars here, said in a statement that
there had been a significant increase in demand for sporty cars.

Meanwhile, Bambang Trisula, chairman of the Association of
Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) said that this year's
sales would not be much different from last year, when around
300,000 units were sold.

"Our situation is no better than last year, but it is starting
to pick up," Bambang said.

However, he said that the figures might be lower if the
government failed to show its seriousness in maintaining law and
order.

"Security is still the main factor. If we keep having riots,
demonstrations, it will certainly affect sales," Bambang said.

While car producers expressed their optimism, they are
apparently being very modest in their targets.

Renault SA, which just reentered the Indonesian market in June
last year, expects to sell 1,000 units this year, or five percent
of the country's completely built up (CBU) market.

Last year, Renault managed to sell 44 units, which was quiet
an accomplishment considering that their products only hit the
market in December.

Elsewhere, Chevrolet has set its 2002 target at 5,000 units,
including 3,000 units for the new Tavera.

"Our target is very conservative because we have to be
careful. We believe that it can be exceeded, but we will have to
do it step by step," Luis said.

Meanwhile, Audi expects a 40 percent increase over last year's
sales of 271 units.