Chrysler to push focus on Indonesia operations
By Russell Williamson
CHRYSLER plans to further its penetration into the Indonesian market, despite putting the introduction of its small car Neon on hold.
The Neon was originally expected to appear in the sub 2000cc market this year, however, the launch of the Timor car and the tax concessions given to PT Timor Putra Nasional to help develop that car called for a change of plans.
But the president and managing director of Chrysler Southeast Asia, Michael Morton, said the change of plans did not mean the company would be downgrading its operations in any way.
"We just have to review the kinds of products we bring into that market," Morton said.
"The tax situation in Indonesia doesn't keep us out of the market or make us less interested," he said.
Chrysler currently sells the Cherokee and Wrangler sports utility vehicles here.
Morton said the location of Chrysler's new regional headquarters in Singapore provided further evidence of its commitment to Indonesia.
He said despite the company selling 70 percent of its volume in Thailand, Singapore was chosen as its regional base to enable Chrysler to focus more attention on Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Singapore office is responsible for operations in 15 countries in the region and will initially be staffed by five people with local managers remaining in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia where it has assembly operations.
As part of its expansion, Morton said Chrysler also wanted to expand capacity in these three countries -- up from the 6000 cars it assembles now.
The company also has plans to build a new assembly facility in Vietnam to build the Dodge Dakota one-ton pickup.
Although most of Chrysler's operations in Southeast Asia currently concentrate on the sports utility market, the company unveiled its new China Concept Car (CCV) in the United States last week, which could change its focus in the region.
The car has yet to be signed off for production but if it is, it may find its way into other developing markets in Asia outside of China.
The CCV has been specially developed for such markets and features space for five passengers and luggage, a durable body with a minimum number of parts, and very high-ground clearance to cope with rough roads.
The body is made of recyclable composite plastic material wrapped around a steel frame.
Under the bonnet is an 800cc, two-cylinder, air-cooled engine driving through a four-speed manual transmission, giving a fuel economy of about 4.7 liters/100km.
Suspension is fully independent with disc brakes on the front and drums on the rear.
To keep maintenance to a minimum, the CCV has only about 1,100 parts as opposed to over-4,000 parts in a conventional car.
With its innovative low-cost design, Chrysler expects the car would be priced between a motorcycle and existing small cars.