Mitsubishi ready to break Toyota's domination this year

Mitsubishi ready to break Toyota's domination this year

MITSUBISHI could be set to break Toyota's 11-year stranglehold
on market leadership in Indonesia this year.

According to industry records, to the end of September,
Mitsubishi had edged out its Japanese rival by selling 54,613
vehicles compared with Toyota's 54,455.

While Mitsubishi sales have increased, Toyota has seen its
fortunes fall as a tighter monetary policy, the Timor national
car and a proliferation of other small sedans have bitten hard
into its sales figures.

The vice president director of Mitsubishi's local distributor,
PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors, Herman Latif, said the
company had increased its market share from about 20 percent last
year to about 25 percent this year, while Toyota had fallen from
about 27 percent to 25 percent.

Herman said although Mitsubishi had led the market for the
entire year, it would be a close call for the 1996 winner and
there was likely to be little more than about 100 vehicles
between the two companies at year's end.

While Mitsubishi has maintained sales in the passenger car
market and grown its commercial share, Toyota has lost in both
areas with Corolla sales falling from 861 vehicles in January to
just 261 in September.

However, the major blow to Toyota has been the significant
drop in sales of Kijang which have been reflected in an overall
fall in this sector of the market.

The Association of Indonesian Automotive Industry reported
that sales of these category one vehicles, which make up more
than 60 percent of the total vehicle market, had fallen by 20
percent over 1995.

Sales of passenger cars, however, had remained reasonably
steady but still account for less than 10 percent of the overall
market.

Herman said although he was pleased Mitsubishi had increased
its share, it would be of a much smaller base this year as the
total market would be lucky to reach 330,000 vehicles -- 50,000
fewer than in 1995.

To the end of September the total market was just over 237,000
vehicles of which passenger sedans made up 27,000 units.

"Certainly the presidential decree in February affected the
market," Herman said.

"The national car issue and tight monetary policy have also
slowed the market this year," he said.

However, Herman remains optimistic the market can still reach
its forecasted 500,000 vehicles by 2000, especially as the
passenger sedan market continues to grow.

Although Herman would not be drawn on new models, Mitsubishi
may have a number of prospects for the future in this market
sector which could further provide a sales boost for the company.

One of these may be the new model Galant which was recently
launched in Japan.

The new vehicle shares the same dimensions as the current
model except for an increased overall height of 20mm, improving
interior headroom.

Outside, the vehicle maintains the distinctive looks of the
current model while interior ergonomics and switchgear have been
improved.

Safety features abound with all models in Japan featuring
antilock brakes with some models incorporating the new active yaw
control and active stability control for improved handling.

The slightly smaller Charisma may also be on the shopping list
with confirmation that the vehicle is headed for Asia --
starting with Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Brunei --
from late next year.

The Charisma is produced in a joint venture between Mitsubishi
and Swedish carmaker Volvo in the Netherlands and is expected to
make a big impact on the Asian markets where its European styling
would make it a sought after sedan.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi is also believed to be in the process of
negotiations with its Indonesian partner to restructure the way
the business is organized to improve cost savings.

The reorganization will bring the local manufacturing and
assembly operations, parts manufacturers and sales company under
one roof as a single joint-venture partner.