Nissan takes on the small luxury market in Indonesia
By John Aglionby
THE luxury car market in Indonesia is small, with 7,500 vehicles sold a year at most. But that has not stopped more car manufacturers attempting to muscle in to grab a slice of the cake.
The latest to try is Nissan. Last night, the Japanese carmaker, which is part of the Indomobil group, launched its Infiniti I30.
It is described by Nissan as "a new-generation comfort sedan" that will "not meet, but replace, the standard" for its class.
The Infiniti I30 is powered by a 3.0-liter, 24-valve, DOHC V6 engine, which Ward's Auto World says is possibly the best engine of its type in the world.
Nissan claims the six-cylinder engine would outperform similar front-wheel drive cars containing eight cylinders and enables the car to accelerate from 0-100kmh in 8.7 seconds.
Drive is through a standard electronically controlled four- speed automatic transmission while stopping power is provided by four-wheel disc brakes with an antilock system.
The Infiniti I30's suspension system is Nissan's multilink beam suspension at the back, independent struts at the front with the engine secured in a cross-shaped four-mount frame to protect it.
Safety is not stressed as one of the main selling points but the Infiniti I30 does come with most of what one would expect from a luxury car -- including side-door beams, crumple zones, automatic fuel cut-off and a high-mounted stop lamp. There is, however, only a driver's air bag.
It is 4.77 meters long, 1.77 meters wide and 1.415 meters high and does not look overtly big. Leather seats are standard and in keeping with its luxury status, equipment levels are high.
To tie in with the name I30, the initial selling price is Rp 130 million (US$53,500) on the road. This is expected to rise, perhaps by as much as 25 percent after a few months because at Rp 130 million, the profit margin is "extremely thin" according to one company source.
Indomobil President Soebronto Laras said he was hoping to sell 1,400 Infiniti I30s a year, or capture 20 percent of the market.
He said: "We are aiming primarily at the Japanese expatriate market. There are 15,000 Japanese in Indonesia and they like to buy cars from their own country, from companies that they know and trust.
"Therefore with the product we have and at the price we are offering it, we think we have set ourselves a reasonable target. Yes it is not cheap but it is a good price."
Given the price, Nissan will be targeting Toyota's Crown rather than any of the Mercedes, Volvo or BMW models. Nissan expects about 90 percent of its sales in the greater Jakarta area.
Soebronto said the Infiniti I30 met all international environmental standards, with most plastic parts being recyclable, required very little maintenance and could easily last for 12 years.
"There would also be no problem fitting a catalytic converter (to help reduce emissions), the only snag is the scarcity of unleaded gasoline in Indonesia."
The greatest challenge, he admits, is building up brand awareness among non-Japanese. "We have got to build this up and make people aware that Nissan is offering a completely new product. If sales in the United States, which have been very strong, are anything to go by, then we should be okay."
A senior executive at one of Nissan's competitors said he was not too worried about the launch of the Infiniti I30 and thought Nissan would face an uphill task to reach its sales target.
"We cannot discount it altogether but Nissan's image is not one of luxury cars so we do not think our sales will drop in the immediate future," he said.