Nissan aims to boost sales through discounts on original spare parts
Sandy Darmosumarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
PT Nissan Motor Indonesia hopes its recent move to reduce the price of original spare parts for all its models will strengthen its brand, and, as such, help increase its sales next year.
Teddy Irawan, deputy director for national sales and promotion with Nissan Motor Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that around 200 components were being sold at a variety of discounted prices, ranging up to 30 percent, starting from Dec. 1.
"It is part of our long-term strategy to boost competitive advantage and customer satisfaction," Teddy said.
He did not, however, indicate the sales target for next year. The firm has targeted its sales at 6,600 this year, up from 3,600 the previous year.
Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (GAIKINDO) Bambang Trisulo praised Nissan's move, saying it would contribute positively to Nissan car sales.
According to Bambang, lower spare part prices would indirectly help the brand's reputation for quality. The proliferation of low-priced and low-quality fake spare parts had caused a negative impact on car brands. But with the price of original parts being reduced, price-conscious customers would choose the more durable original parts.
"Currently, sales of non-original parts make up around 30 percent of overall sales in the components industry. The only way to reduce their rising share is to beat them through lowering the price of original parts," he said.
Teddy said that among the components on discount were brake pads and shock absorbers. He did not specify whether the price reduction was permanent or temporary; nor did he specify whether the discount affected spare parts produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) or replacement equipment manufacturers (REM), or both.
OEMs supply original components directly to car manufacturers. Thus, a reduction in the price of components may affect the price of automobiles. REMs, on the other hand, cater for businesses that offer after-sales service. Fake components are produced by REMs.
Deputy head of the purchasing division of PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia A.K.Hadi told the Post that Toyota had no plans to follow Nissan's move as the price of spare parts for some Toyota products, particularly the Kijang van, was already low.
Kijang's spare parts are cheap because they are produced en masse by Toyota due to high-volume sales of the van.
He admitted, however, that Toyota had been seeking to reduce the price of spare parts for some products, particularly its Dyna trucks.
"Toyota has initiated the manufacturing of lower-priced components for Dyna trucks under the brand of Arpi. The Arpi brand is inferior in quality, and is priced around 20 percent to 30 percent below Toyota's genuine Aspira brand," said Hadi.
"The higher local materials content in the Arpi range is the reason for its lower price. The price of imported components is determined to a great extent by currency exchange rate movements," he commented.