Rudijanto

Rudijanto
Contributor/Jakarta

Toyota's recent announcement that it is to introduce a new car
called the International Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) has created
great curiosity in the domestic automotive market, even though
the company has yet to unveil the specifications and design of
the new vehicle.

Previously, Toyota and Daihatsu successfully played the same
game with their respective Avanza and Xenia models. The
announcement of new city cars resulted in a long list of orders.
The buyers placed their orders even without knowing what shape
the cars would take.

In its latest move, PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia
(TMMIN) and PT Toyota-Astra Motor (TAM) announced that the new
IMV would be launched in Indonesia this year. The new car is the
fruit of what the Toyota terms its "Global Quality Project" (GQ
Project).

Using the same marketing technique, Suzuki has also aroused
the market's curiosity with its announcement of the new Suzuki
APV. The company has even kept the meaning of "APV" a secret.
What clues we have suggest that the acronym stands for "All-
Purpose Vehicle" or even "Asian Purpose Vehicle".

Scheduled for launching this month, the Suzuki APV will carry
a price tag of Rp 100 million (about US$11,000), the same price
as the Toyota Avanza.

The Suzuki APV, which has a 1.5 liter engine, can accommodate
eight passengers. This is why Suzuki calls it "Magic 8".

The launching of new car models has become an important
marketing strategy to lure new buyers. This is might the reason
why Toyota also introduced New Camry, the latest generation of
its Camry sedan.

The New Camry features several design improvements,
particularly in the radiator grill, front headlights and bumper,
with added fog lamps, side protector moldings, grip type door
handles, and bigger wheels and tires. There is also additional
safety equipment, including a back sonar and corner sensors.

The new sedan's interior also has several changes such as to
the inside door handle, rearview mirror, and door scuff plates.
On sale for about Rp 500 million, the New Camry is aimed at the
middle and high end markets, which is why it has a more luxurious
and elegant look than its predecessor, Toyota Camry.

Another way to attract buyers is to present new and unique
features, such as the much touted Pre-Safe and Kompressor
technologies of Daimler Chrysler. These two technologies are used
in two Daimler Chrysler series, the S-290L and S-350L.

Daimler Chrysler's Deputy Director, Marketing Planning &
Communication Yuniadi H. Hartono says such technological
innovations have become the worldwide trend in line with
improvements in safety, and environmental and energy-saving
awareness.

Mercedes-Benz 180 sales, which reached 522 vehicles last year,
amounted to 196 vehicles between January and June 2004, while
sales of the Mercedes-Benz E-200 amounted to 148 vehicles in the
first six months of this year, more than a half of the total
figure of 236 vehicles booked in 2003. Sales of Mercedes-Benz S-
280 L and S-350 L cars stood at 160 vehicles in 2003, with 66
vehicles being sold in the first six months of this year.

The emphasis on technological achievement is also reflected in
the new BMW X5 and the new BMW X3, both of which feature xDrive
technology. Termed as the world's most intelligent four-wheel
technology innovation, xDrive increases road grip, agility and
safety.

The xDrive system is said to enable power and torque increases
to be converted into usable traction in all driving situations.
This system uses information from wheel sensors and data
collected by the Dynamic Stability Control system, including the
yawrate and steering angle, and predicts any loss of traction or
tire slippage and reacts in a few milliseconds.

This xDrive system also uses a mid-mounted, electrically
controlled multi disc clutch to distribute drive constantly
between the front and rear wheels, varying torque delivery to the
wheels which most require it. BMW believes that this system is
most useful in dynamic driving situations such as off-road and on
slippery surfaces or inclines.

With such capabilities, no wonder BMW applied the xDrive
technology to its newly launched Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV),
the BMW X3. Equipped with such technology, the BMW X3 tries to
present a compelling blend of agility, uniquely dynamic and
sporty performance, and impressive off-road capabilities, without
leaving luxury behind.

"The SUV market worldwide continues to develop dynamically. In
the next 10 years, experts see ongoing growth of the overall SUV
segment by approximately 50 percent. We are confident that the
mid-sized SAV X3 will continue the success and greatness of the
X5 in this market," PT BMW Indonesia's President Director Josef
Honsel said.

Comfort, luxury, technological superiority and safety
constitute the most emphasized features in high end cars such as
BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. On the other hand, affordability
remains the greatest selling point of low-end cars such as the
Toyota Avanza and Daihatsu Xenia.

However, in the not too distant future manufacturers will have
to take into account the environmental requirements that are
slowly creeping in the market. The Office of the State Minister
for the Environment has issued Decree No. 141/2003, which
requires the implementation of Euro-2 emission standards for all
cars produced from January 2005.

Certainly, European high-end car manufacturers will not have
any problem with environmental requirements in Indonesia, but
low-end car makers may have to adjust their prices as they will
have to include more equipment to meet the environmental
standards.

There seems to be room for growth on the part of all players
in the Indonesian market, from the low-end segment such as the
Daihatsu Xenia (priced from Rp 70 million) to the high-end
segment, such as the BMW X3 3.0i and 2.5i, which are sold
respectively at about Rp 850 million and Rp 750 million on the
road in Jakarta, or the fine-tuned BMW X5, which is sold at Rp
998 million on the road for the 3.01 model and Rp 1.46 billion on
the road in Jakarta for the 4.4i model.

There is no doubt that expensive cars such as the 3.01 model
of the BMW X5 will find buyers on the domestic market. Even in a
so-called communist country such as China, there was a buyer for
a Maybach 62, which is sold at Rp 8.1 billion ($900,000), as
reported by the International Herald Tribune daily.

Though this sounds like a contradiction of reality given that
Rp 8.1 billion is equals to an average Chinese factory worker's
salary for 1,000 years, it is precisely the ability to take
advantage of such contradictions that keeps on boosting
automotive sales in countries such as China and Indonesia.