Major car makers report hefty sales in third quarter

T.Sima Gunawan, Contributor/Jakarta

The Indonesian automotive market is on the path to recovery, with car sales continuing to show a significant increase during the past few months.

Total sales rebounded to 348,736 units during the first nine months of this year, or an increase of nearly 30 percent as compared to 268,531 units in the same period of last year.

The highest sales were grabbed by Japanese carmaker PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM), which managed to increase its sales volume to 99,798 units, about 30 percent from 76,591 units in the same period of last year.

During the Jan.-Sept. period, TAM controlled about 28.6 percent of the country's total market.

In the sedan category, TAM sold 9,834 units of Vios and Limo, 2,135 units of Altis and 1,260 units of Camry.

TAM predicts that its total sales will reach 140,000 units this year, or about 33 percent of the national sales volume, which is estimated to reach about 420,000 units.

PT Honda Prospect Motor sold 34,209 vehicles in the Jan.-Sept. period of this year, an increase of 110 percent from 16,274 cars in the same period of 2003. Honda controlled about 9.8 percent of the national car market.

Monthly sales in September reached 5,600 units, the highest sales recorded by Honda since it entered the Indonesian market 30 years ago.

Honda Jazz remains the most popular Honda car with monthly sales reaching 3,795 units in September, an increase from 3,028 units in August. In September, Honda CVR booked sales of 696 units, while Honda Stream recorded sales of 295 units in the same month, followed by Honda City (555 units) and Honda Civic (81 units).

In September, PT BMW Indonesia recorded a 42.4 percent market share in the European premium car segment in the third quarter of 2004.

During the Jan.-Sept. period, BMW Indonesia's total sales reached 1,393 units, while in September alone it delivered 213 units of BMW to its customers.

Sales of BMW's 3 Series contributed up to 57 percent with 794 units; while the BMW 5 Series contributed 28.4 percent (396 units); the 7 Series, 4 percent (56 units); and the X Series, 6.7 percent of total sales, with 93 X5 units and 42 X3 units.

PT BMW Indonesia president director Josef Honsel said, "We are optimistic that we will see an increase in sales for the remainder of 2004, due to improvements in market conditions after the peaceful presidential election in September."

The Association of Indonesian Automotive Producers (Gaikindo), which released the above figures, expects that car sales this year will surpass 1997 sales, the highest ever sales recorded in Indonesia. In 1997, total car sales reached 386,691 units, but sales dropped to the lowest level, 58,000 units, the following year as a result of the economic crisis, which hit the country early in 1998.

Along with the increasing buying power of customers, car makers strive to increase their market share by monitoring the design, comfort and safety of vehicles.

Comfort is crucial in a sedan. And it becomes even more so in a metropolis that is notorious for its traffic jams.

Service is no less important. It is in fact the key to the success of BMW as the leader in the premium segment.

"We focus on customer satisfaction. We have heavily invested in various areas to support our dealership to provide the best service to our customers," said Helena Abidin, the director of corporate communications at PT BMW Indonesia.

She said that all dealers were equipped with high-tech diagnostic equipment, the latest software and the tools to service the cars.

She also said that the company had established the BMW National Training Center at the German Center in Bumi Serpong Damai, with an initial investment of Rp 5 billion to train all dealers in the areas of customer service, technical know-how and business development.

Earlier this year, it introduced BMW Service Inclusive, providing all BMW owners with a free service for 5 years or 100,000 km.

"Owning a BMW offers a peace-of-mind ownership experience. BMW is the first in the premium segment that offers this breakthrough program. The program is transferable to subsequent owners," she said.

DaimlerChrysler Indonesia also offers a three-year unlimited after sale service package as part of its commitment to providing its customers with, not only the best products, but also the best after-sales service.

Like the two premium brands, besides offering great customer service, Audi is also making efforts to increase its market share by reducing costs through the opening of a production base for the Southeast Asia region.

All of the vehicles are, so far, delivered in completely-built-up (CBU) form, which requires a high import tax.

Its board member for sales and marketing, Ralph Weyler, recently said that it was important for Audi to be competitive, not only in product quality, but also price wise, in order to compete with other premium brands.