Government Optimistic Car Production Will Exceed 850,000 Units

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita is optimistic that national car production throughout 2026 can exceed 850,000 units. The target is considered realistic after production in the first half of 2026 reached 615,000 units. According to Agus, this achievement indicates the national automotive industry is beginning to shift from a market base to a production base. ‘Indonesia is in the process of moving from initially being a market base to becoming a production base,’ Agus said at the opening of GIIAS 2026 in BSD, Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday, 30 July 2026. He stated that car production in the first half of 2026 grew by 11.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, wholesale car sales also increased by 15.9 percent year-on-year to 436,000 units. However, Agus assessed that the car ownership rate in Indonesia is still far lower than in other countries in the region. Currently, the car ownership ratio in Indonesia is only 19 units per 1,000 residents. For comparison, the car ownership ratio in Thailand reaches 275 units per 1,000 residents, while Malaysia reaches 490 units per 1,000 residents. According to Agus, this low ownership ratio actually indicates that the potential for domestic market growth remains very large. With a population of nearly 290 million people, an increase of one unit in the car ownership ratio per 1,000 residents would create additional demand for approximately 280,000 vehicles. ‘That number is almost a third of our entire domestic market today,’ Agus said. Based on data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), Toyota was the largest car manufacturer in Indonesia in the first half of 2026. The manufacturer recorded production of 268,528 units, growing 9.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Second place was occupied by Mitsubishi Motors with production of 93,558 units from its manufacturing facility in Cikarang, West Java. Meanwhile, Daihatsu was in third place with a production volume reaching 73,065 units during the same period.