Diversified Bakrie Group opts for upmarket vans
By Rikza Abdullah
PRESTON, Britain (JP): The diversified conglomerate Bakrie Group will enter Indonesia's highly competitive automotive market next year, in the upmarket van sector rather than opting for the growing sedan market.
Several prototypes of the vans, to be called Bakrie and combining British and French technology, have been tested at the Leyland Technical Center's facilities here. Bakrie Group chairman Aburizal Bakrie, accompanied by his lieutenants and engineers, were here last week to test-drive the first of several prototypes.
Basoeki Soebiakto of PT Bakrie Investindo told Indonesian reporters invited to take part in the test-drive that the multi- purpose vans will be designed with a maximum capacity of seven passengers and equipped with a gasoline engine of 2,000 cc or a diesel engine of 1,900 cc plus a turbo intercooler.
Basoeki, who was a Kijang van production manager for the Astra Group before joining the Bakrie Group, said the designing, engineering and production of the engines has been assigned to Peugeot-Citroen Moteur of France.
"Because we will buy the copyright of the engines, they will bear the brand name of Bakrie," Aburizal said.
The chassis and body of the Bakrie van is designed by Creative Automotive Design Limited of Britain, while the production of the prototypes was undertaken by its sister company Creative Manufacturing Systems Limited.
Seven prototypes have been produced, so that each of them can be tested for different purposes.
Peter Flinn, managing director of Leyland Technical Center, said the prototypes will have to go through hundreds of different tests before the mass production of the vans can begin.
Leyland Technical Center, which uses laboratories and vehicle workshops to test the vans, is recognized by the British Department of Transportation's Vehicle Certification Agency to conduct type approval testing under directives of the European Union.
Aburizal said he hoped production and assembly by his group's unit PT Bakrie Motor in Indonesia will begin in June next year and the cars will be launched in December 1997.
The vans will be sold for between Rp 38 million (US$16,170) and Rp 60 million, depending on the specifications requested by buyers.
In comparison, Kijang vans with a 1,800 cc Toyota engine cost between Rp 33 million and Rp 45 million and Panther vans with a 2,500 cc Isuzu diesel engine are sold for between Rp 40 million and Rp 46 million. A Blazer van with a 2,00 cc Opel engine is sold at Rp 72 million and a Serena van with a 2,000 cc Nissan engine costs Rp 91.5 million.
The specifications of Bakrie vans are closer to the Blazer and Serena because its standard equipment will include an air- conditioner, a power-steering system, a radio-cassette player and electric windows.
Aburizal is one of several newcomers to the Indonesian automotive industry challenging the domination of the established conglomerates like Astra and Indomobil. The latter have dominated the market by producing and assembling Japanese cars.
Two other newcomers, Hutomo (Tommy) Mandala Putra and Bambang Trihatmodjo entered the market last month launching sedans that rely on South Korean technology.
Vans of all classes currently take the lion's share of the Indonesian car market but its position is slowly being eroded by sedans. Last year, of the 380,000 vehicles sold in Indonesia, 140,000 were vans.