More new cars hit the street this year

I. Christianto, Contributor, Jakarta

A whole range of new car models will converge upon the Indonesian automotive market this year, amid signs of healthy growth in car sales in the domestic market.

Among the new models will include the Toyota Vios, which has already hit the streets in a few other Asian countries. The Toyota Vios is expected to be as popular as Toyota Soluna, which last month controlled nearly 50 percent of the market share in the mini-sedan category.

The Vios is slightly smaller than the Corolla, but uses the same 1.5-liter VVT-i engine as the Corolla 1.5 LX and XLi. This unit, with variable valve timing, produces 109 horsepower. Despite the engine's high quality, the Vios will be priced lower than the Corolla.

Meanwhile, Honda is set to introduce its new City and Accord, while Suzuki is ready to launch the new Baleno. Hyundai will introduce its new Accent Verna to compete with City and Baleno. Nissan will also introduce Teana, the Asian version of the Nissan Maxima marketed in the U.S., replacing Cefiro in the mid-size sedan class.

Audi has its second-generation A3 waiting to be unveiled, while DaimlerChrysler is to introduce its Mercedes Benz C240T Estate. Not one to be left behind in the dust, Mazda is to launch its 323 Protigi.

In the market of the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), Kijang is likely to continue to dominate the sales of the family van, followed by Isuzu Panther, Mitsubishi Kuda, and Daihatsu Taruna and its other minivans.

The MPV competition will be tight this year, with Ford slated to launch its Fiesta, KIA to introduce is Carens II, while Peugeot is to enter another new contender -- its 307SW series.

Nissan Motor entered the market in 2003 by releasing its latest Nissan Terano series. Although only minor facelifts have been applied to the previous versions, the company has managed to make the new series appear fresh.

The company has launched three new versions of the Terano: Spirit S1, an upgraded version of the older Terano Spirit model; Grandroad G1, the updated version of the Grandroad XTR; and Kingsroad K1, which will replace the Kingsroad F2.

In addition to the MPV, the competition in the market of small cars, also known as city cars, is getting fiercer. More and more people enjoy driving city cars for their compact size, while their prices are more affordable to middle-income Indonesians whose purchasing power had declined in the prolonged economic crisis.

In the market of the Completely Built Up (CBU) cars (cars imported in its assembled form), Endy Kusumo of PT Global Auto said that his company would introduce the Toyota Will Cypha.

He said the Will Cypha was a city car offering futuristic features including sophisticated entertainment items.

"Passengers will be able to enjoy television, video, karaoke and MP3. The car is also equipped with a 256MB mini-disc recorder," he said.

With a price of about Rp 250 million per unit, the Will Cypha targeted the younger generation and those fond of technology, adventure, easy maintenance and reliability, he added.

His company would also introduce the Toyota Harrier to take advantage of the surge in the demand for exclusive jeeps in the country.

Other super-expensive CBUs to hit Indonesia include the Audi A8, the BMW Z4 and 760i, and the VW Toureg. From Japan, Honda will introduce its new Accord, Fit and reportedly, the Civic Hybrid. In the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) category, the Suzuki Escudo XL-7 (1600 cc) and the Ford Escape 2.0. will be the new kids on the block.

After suffering a major setback as a result of the country's financial crisis in early 1998, the Indonesian automotive sector has booked sustainable growth in the last four years.

Total sales further increased to 299,560 units in 2001, to 317,788 units in 2002, and is now approaching the peak level of 1997, when sales hit 383,605 units.

Although the Indonesian car market has not yet fully recovered, it is still regarded as one of the most lucrative markets in Asia.

According to the Indonesian Association of Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), the sales of sedans in the domestic market dropped by 16.8 percent in January last month from the sales figure booked in the same month, last year.

However, the sales of sedans in the mid-size category showed a 250 percent increase to 110 cars in the month from the same month last year. Toyota Camry is one of the most favorite cars in the category controlling 23.5 percent of the sales of sedans in the market of the mid-size category.

At present, Japanese carmakers control about 90 percent of total automotive sales, even against the entry of new names from the United States and Europe, or newly emerging carmakers from South Korea.

The major players are Toyota, Mitsubishi and Suzuki, followed by Daihatsu and Honda. Other Asian carmakers popular in Indonesia include the Korean Hyundai and KIA. Non-Asian cars include Peugeot, Renault, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi.