Hyundai Reveals Strategy to Keep Dealers Afloat

JAKARTA – Currently, there is a widespread trend of automotive dealer closures being replaced by brands from China. PT Hyundai Motors Indonesia (HMID) stresses the importance of maintaining the sustainability of its dealer network as the frontline of business in Indonesia. Chief Operating Officer of HMID, Fransiscus Soerjopranoto, stated that dealers play a crucial role in the distribution chain, especially since distributors cannot directly reach end consumers in Indonesia. “There might be a phenomenon where many dealers are closing and so on. Dealers are very important in their role. Because from the distributor and manufacturer, it’s certainly upstream. Then downstream, there are dealers and consumers,” said Fransiscus, when met in South Jakarta on Wednesday (15/4/2026). He explained that in Indonesia’s business model, dealers serve as the main link between producers and consumers. According to Fransiscus, Hyundai adopts an approach that places consumers as the top priority, followed by dealers as strategic partners. Since 2022, Hyundai has also implemented various efforts to keep dealers surviving and growing, including ensuring their businesses continue to operate amid challenging market conditions. “How can we develop our dealers so they can educate the market? In times when the market declines, sales per outlet also drop; how can they have, so to speak, ‘vitamins’ to keep operating until the market rises again,” said Fransiscus. One strategy implemented is maximising the number of vehicles already circulating in the market (units in operation). To date, Hyundai has sold around 110,000 to 120,000 vehicle units in Indonesia since 2020. “How do we maintain units in operation so that customers are more satisfied, and the dealers’ business also improves? So the service absorption rate (how much of the dealer’s operational costs can be covered by after-sales business without relying on new car sales) increases, and income from non-vehicle sources also rises,” said Fransiscus. Through this strategy, Hyundai hopes its dealer network remains strong and able to withstand the increasingly tight automotive industry competition.