Mercedes aims to up share in local truck market

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.