Timor announces it sold 1,250 cars in one night

JAKARTA (JP): PT Timor Distributor Nasional, the distributor of the country's national car, the Timor, sold 1,250 of the sedans in one night at a function it held Friday night, the company announced Saturday.

Timor Distributor said that it had sold its S-515 SOHC and S- 515 DOHC models to both corporate and individual buyers at the gala dinner.

Among the buyers were PT Indo Prima Trijaya and an unidentified West Java cooperative, which together bought 1,000 cars, Mulia Group, which purchased 144 cars, the state owned social security insurance company PT Jamsostek, which took 20 cars, PT Senawangi Freight Forwarder, which bought six cars, and Irvan Gading, which took four cars.

Businessmen

Several noted businessmen also bought a Timor car each at the event attended by prominent businesspeople and government officials, Timor Distributor said.

Company president Soemitro Soerachmad said the event's success proved the car had a healthy market in the country.

"We have also formed a new subsidiary company, called PT Bina Mobil Nasional, which will manage the sales of used cars as well as the Timor 2001 car rental," he said.

The new company would start operating soon, he said, adding that Timor Distributor owned 35 percent of it.

Timor Distributor said in March that it had slashed its sales targets following a disappointing performance in February.

Sumitro said the target was cut from 4,000 a month to 2,500 following low sales, particularly in February when sales fell to 980 from 3,300 in January.

In February 1996 the government appointed PT Timor Putra Nasional the country's only national carmaker. With this status the company is exempted from import duties and luxury sales taxes, which add about 60 percent to the price of sedans.

The company is allowed to import from South Korea's Kia Motor Corp, pending the planned completion of Timor's own plants in 1998. (das)