Indomobil has not applied for 'Porche car permits'

JAKARTA (JP): The government has not yet received an application from the Indomobil Group to assemble Porche sports cars, a senior official said yesterday.

Effendi Sudarsono, the director general for metal-based, machinery and chemical industries, said yesterday his office had not received the group's application to assemble the luxury Porche cars.

"We have not heard of Indomobil's plan to assemble Porches here, " he told reporters after the 1996 Automotive Engineering Exhibition's official opening.

There are 338 companies from 24 countries, including Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Germany and South Korea, at the show. It was also supported by local automobile makers such as PT Kramayudha Tiga Berlian Motors, PT Timor Putra Nasional and PT Indomobil Group.

Effendi refused to comment when asked if Indomobil's plan to assemble Porche cars was acceptable.

"At the moment, we try to avoid letting luxury cars into Indonesian market, except those used by diplomatic corps," he said, adding that the government had no a specific rule to restrict the production of luxury vehicles, such as Porches.

Indomobil Group president Soebronto Laras announced yesterday his company had been appointed by Porche of Germany to assemble its 2-plus-2 coupe sports cars.

"The Porche team is here to discuss all preparations required including the amount of investment, the volume of production and the location of assembly," he said.

Soebronto said arrangements would take about 10 months, including the establishment of press-mold machines.

"If we could assemble Porches here, Indonesia would be the first in Asia to assemble Porches, because other countries like Malaysia and China are just importing the cars," he said.

Effendi said he doubted the car would be widely purchased by Indonesians. He warned companies about the high costs of manufacturing luxury cars.

"Well, Porche is a very sophisticated car, not to mention its expensive, which will require a large amount of funds to manufacture while people who would buy it are very limited," he said.

But Soebronto, without disclosing the investment, said the Porche project would not be too expensive.

"We will only assemble the car, besides Indomobil has already established an assembly plant," he said.

Indomobil assembles Suzuki, Mazda, Nissan, Volvo, SSangyong, Audi and Volkswagen vehicles. The last three brands are scheduled to be launched here early next year.

Soebronto was confident the car, estimated to cost Rp 400 million (around US$168,000), would be purchased by middle-income and rich people in local and regional markets.

"We are certain of the market for Porches in Asian countries including Japan because the car will be modified for right-hand drive," he said. (04)