Import of Proton cars not to hurt automotive industry
Import of Proton cars not to hurt automotive industry
JAKARTA (JP): The planned import of 2,500 Proton Wira and
Iswara cars from Malaysia, which will be exempted from value
added tax and duties, will not affect the domestic automotive
industry, an executive says.
"The Malaysian cars will account only for 1.3 percent of
Indonesia's total sales, estimated at 280,000 units this year,"
the vice chairman on commerce of the Indonesian Automotive
Industry Association, Poeng W. I. Lubis, said here yesterday.
Furthermore, the Malaysian cars will be operated as taxicabs,
he said.
Imports of car components are subject to a 100 percent duty
and a 10 percent value added tax, while the sales of cars are
subject to a 35 percent luxury tax. For comparison, imports of
assembled cars whose type is not assembled in Indonesia are
subject to a 200 percent duty and a 100 percent surcharge.
Like other taxicabs, the importation of assembled Proton cars
will not be subject to tax and duties.
Lubis said the import of Proton cars would affect the domestic
industry if they were not operated as taxicabs.
Last week, Malaysia and Indonesia signed counter-trade deals,
involving aircraft and cars, worth around US$100 million. The
deals comprised of a memorandum of understanding and four letters
of intent.
The MOU
Under the memorandum of understanding, the Bandung-based PT
Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) will export six CN-235
transport planes worth $100 million. In return, Indonesia will
buy 20 MD-3 light trainer planes valued at $2.6 million and 2,500
cars, all produced in Malaysia. One of the letters of intent
specifically required that PT Citra Lamtorogung Persada buy the
2,500 cars from the Malaysian company Perusahaan Otomobil
Nasional Bhd. (Proton).
An official said last week that 1,000 of the cars will be
operated as taxicabs and the other 1,500 will be for official
use. The car deliveries will start in September and will be
completed a year from then.
In Malaysia, the showroom price of an Iswara Saga car with a
1.3 liter engine and manual transmission is M$32,000 (US$11,850.)
The Wira car, with a 1.6 liter engine and automatic transmission
is M$56,000.
Proton cars are produced in Malaysia in cooperation with
Mitsubishi of Japan. In Indonesia, Mitsubishi vehicles are
assembled by the Krama Yudha Group.(icn)