PT Toyota launches new car amid bullish market

JAKARTA (JP): After two years of delay, car manufacturer PT Toyota-Astra Motor launched on Wednesday its new sedan, which it hopes will benefit from the surge in the domestic car market.

Company marketing director Alam Wijono said the 1,500-cc Toyota Soluna would target the "minisedan" market, a segment which he defined as sedans with an engine capacity of between 1,300-cc and 1,500-cc.

"We expect to sell between 500 and 600 units per month this year. The GLi manual version is expected to contribute the most, or up to 70 percent, of Soluna sales," he said at a media conference.

Toyota Soluna comes in three versions with retail prices (including tax) set at Rp 104.4 million (US$13,925) for the standard XLi version, Rp 125 million for the deluxe GLi manual version and Rp 135.9 million for the GLi automatic version.

About 30 percent of the new cars' components are made locally, while the remaining components, including the engines, are imported.

According to the deputy general manager for marketing planning and customer relations, Joko Trisanyoto, the company began preparations for the Soluna production in early 1997 and initially planned to launch the sedan in 1998.

The project, however, was delayed due to the unfavorable economic and political situation in the country, which seriously affected the domestic car market, he said.

Joko said the company believed now was the right time to market the Soluna in order to anticipate the expected increase in demand for sedans this year, especially those with smaller engines.

"Demand is expected to surge this year as many people who during the crisis had to delay their purchase plans are expected to buy now," he said.

Data from the Indonesian Association of Car Producers shows that domestic car sales reached 51,169 units in the first quarter of this year, far above the 578 units sold in the same period last year.

According to Joko, the total sale of domestic cars this year is expected to reach around 240,000 units, compared to 94,000 units sold nationwide last year.

He said Toyota had seen a significant improvement in its sales. "We have sold 14,000 units as of the end of March (this year), while at the same time last year we could only sell 2,483 units."

He said Toyota hoped to increase its sales this year to 72,000 units from the 26,500 units it sold last year.

"With that we expect to have a market share of around 30 percent," he added.

Toyota currently sells its sedans here under the Corolla, Corona and Camry brands, its minivan under the Kijang brand and a commercial vehicle under the Dyna brand.

Joko said the company was optimistic about sales of its new sedan, despite the fact the designated market had so far been dominated by earlier launched 1,500-cc sedans like Suzuki's Baleno and Honda's City.

"We know that Soluna is coming late. But Soluna will succeed because the segment here tends to buy the newest model available on the market, not to mention our competitive price," he said.

He said the company, however, would not shift its business focus to the production of the sedan, although the market for such cars was expected to grow rapidly in the near future.

"We are going to keep the focus on the minivan because the market for this type of vehicle has been and will continue to be the biggest in the country," he said.

Minivans account for 60 percent of total domestic car sales, he said, adding that Toyota's Kijang held 36 percent of the minivan market last year. (cst)