Toyota launches new Corolla model

JAKARTA (JP): PT Toyota Astra Motor launched on Thursday its new Corolla Altis model to boost its presence on the local automotive market.

Toyota Astra president Alam Wijono said at the car's launch that he was optimistic the public would respond eagerly to the 1800 cc Altis, despite the numerous choices available on the market.

"I'm sure we will be able to sell about 500 vehicles a month," he said, adding that the company was targeting sales of 3,000 new models this year.

Dradjat Prawira, the Toyota Astra general manager for the sales division, claimed that the company had received 600 orders for the new model from June to mid-July.

The company will start delivering the Corolla Altis ninth generation in August or September from its Karawang factory, he said, adding that the first generation of Corolla Altis was launched in 1966.

Last year, the Altis model enjoyed strong sales of about 2,900 vehicles, which made it the market leader for medium-sized sedans with a capacity of between 1500 cc and 1800 cc, Dradjat said.

Corolla Altis is competing with the Honda Civic and Mitsubishi Lancer in its market segment.

"We're quite sure that we will continue to lead the market segment," he said.

The newly launched sedan, which is assembled locally, is using a new 1ZZ-FE DOHC engine, which enables the car to produce lower gas emissions than the previous model.

It is also equipped with an ultrasonic sensor on the rear bumper of the vehicle to detect any obstacles when the car backs up.

The new Altis model, which was launched in three series, sells for between Rp 236 million (US$20,700) and Rp 278 million.

The Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) recently revised its national car sales prediction this year from 250,000 vehicles to 280,000 vehicles.

Dradjat said that Toyota Astra would remain conservative about its car sales target, adding that this year's target had been revised downwards to 83,000 vehicles from its initial aim of 87,000, due to sluggish demand, Dradjat said.

"We can't be so optimistic because of current political uncertainty," he said.

He noted, however, that Toyota Astra sales rose 17 percent to 36,516 vehicles in the first semester from sales in the same period of last year.

The company accounted for about 24.6 percent of the total sales of 148,541 vehicles in the first semester of the year, Dradjat said.(05)