Mercedes aims to up share in local truck market
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming general election, DaimlerChrysler Indonesia, the producer of various Mercedes-Benz vehicles, announced on Monday a plan to increase its share in the heavy-duty vehicle domestic market to 50 percent from the current 30 percent.
The company's president Friedel Engisch said that he was optimistic the target could be achieved in 2004 because the demand for such vehicles was still growing.
"We want to achieve a 50 percent market share in the heavy duty vehicle segment despite the upcoming election. I have been in Indonesia for nine years. Based on my experience, the election will affect only certain months," Friedel told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a ceremony to appoint PT Kobexindo as a distributor for the company's heavy duty vehicles.
"The consumers for trucks are mostly located in remote regions, which are far less affected by the election," added Friedel.
Last year, the company sold some 400 units of completely built-up (CBU) trucks, which means the trucks are imported as a finished product, not as separate parts. All of these trucks weigh more than 16 tons.
"There are five categories for commercial trucks according to their weight. We produce rear-engine buses only for category 2 and produce trucks for category 3 and 5. Our biggest market share is trucks from category 5, which weigh more than 24 tons," said Yuniadi H. Hartono, the company's deputy director for marketing planning and communication.
The company faces stiff competition in category 3 trucks from the cheaper Mitsubishi with its Fuso, and Izusu brands. These companies sell completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles, which means the companies import the car in separate parts and assemble them in Indonesia.
However, DaimlerChrysler is the market leader for trucks in category 5, taking 30 percent of the total market share of approximately 1,200 units a year. DaimlerChrysler faces competition from brands such as Volvo, Scania, and Renault. All of these trucks are completely built up.
"The appointment of PT Kobexindo as our distributor will spur our company's truck sales because they specialize in heavy vehicle marketing, especially in the mining industry," said Friedel.
President of Kobexindo, Humas Saputra said that there would be a high demand for Mercedes trucks in the coming years particularly from the growing coal mining sector.
Elsewhere, DaimlerChrysler also claimed it was the leader in the luxury vehicle segment in this country in 2003, while announcing an increase of 4 percent in its market share for the first two months of 2004.
According to company records, Mercedes's total sales for passenger cars in 2003 were 2,031 units or 47 percent of the total Indonesian market share for the premium car segment. This was an increase of 25 units from 2,006 units sold in 2002 or equivalent to 45 percent of the market share.