Interest rate hits auto sales: Analyst
Interest rate hits auto sales: Analyst
JAKARTA (JP): Domestic automobile sales tumbled in the first nine months of this year, falling 17 percent over the same period last year to about 230,000 vehicles, according to the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association.
First-category commercial vehicles were worst affected, including multipurpose vans such as the Toyota Kijang and Suzuki sidekick. Only 155,670 commercial vehicles were sold, down 20 percent, according to the association.
Automotive analyst Suhari Sargo said yesterday the drop was caused by tight monetary policy rather than by the government's national car policy.
"Commercial vehicles in the first category are the most popular automobiles here. Sales of vehicles in this category dropped seriously because of the government's efforts to reduce the public's liquidity," Suhari said.
But the government's attack on liquidity has not seriously affected sedan sales, which remained flat in the first nine months of this year. Approximately 27,000 cars were sold.
"People buying sedans are mostly in middle and high-income brackets, and therefore their car-buying patterns were not affected by tightening liquidity," Suhari said.
He acknowledged the launch of the Suzuki Baleno, Bimantara Cakra and Bimantara Nenggala sedans, with prices closer to first- category commercial vehicles, had stolen some of the market from the commercial vehicles.
First-category commercial vehicles, which are mostly used as passenger vehicles, make up more than 60 percent of the country's auto market. Sedans make up less than 10 percent of the market.
Trucks
Suhari said sales of third-category commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, had fallen 30 percent to some 8,700 units.
Because of tightening monetary policy, people wanting to buy heavy trucks have canceled their plans and bought cheaper second- category commercial vehicles instead, Suhari said.
Sales of second-category commercial vehicles, light trucks and multipurpose commercial vans, remained steady at 36,900 units.
Suhari said the entrance of duty-free national cars, Timor cars, from South Korea failed to stimulate the auto market.
Some 8,000 Timor cars, produced by Kia Motors Corp. of South Korea for PT Timor Putra Nasional, have entered the country. But only about 1,000 of the cars have been delivered to customers.
"It shows that Timor cars have not yet won the hearts of most Indonesian auto users," Suhari said. (rid)