Thailand
Indonesia’s domestic car sales up 19pc in September, immune to fuel hike
ANN/THE JAKARTA POST – The hike in the prices of subsidised fuels early last month has done little to hamper car sales, experts and industrialists said, as eased COVID-19 restrictions have paved the way for growth.
According to a report from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo), domestic car sales were up 19 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) and 3.1 per cent month-to-month (mtm) to total 99,986 units in September.
Year-to-date (y-t-d) sales had increased 20.8 per cent y-o-y to 758,216 units, while cumulative y-t-d sales were also up 0.4 per cent compared to the first nine months of 2019.
The figure was even higher compared to September 2019, with sales growth reaching 7.3 per cent.
Sales of two-wheel drive (2WD) cars in September, comprising 56.9 per cent of the total market share, were up 19 per cent y-o-y to 56,826 units, and 12 per cent higher than the figure in September 2019.
Meanwhile, cumulative 2WD sales had increased 23 per cent y-o-y to 431,386 units, and four per cent higher than in the first three quarters of 2019.
Sales of fuel-efficient and affordable 2WD cars, which have engine capacities below 1,200 cc, were up 32 per cent y-o-y to 18,469 units in September, but still four per cent lower than the figure in September 2019.
Cumulative sales of cars in this category, which makes up 17 per cent of the market share, were up 17.1 per cent y-o-y to 128,664 units, but 17 per cent lower than the figure for the same period in 2019.
Truck sales increased 27 per cent y-o-y to 9,199 units, and up six per cent higher compared to the same month in 2019. Meanwhile, y-t-d truck sales increased 38 per cent y-o-y to 66,103 units, but slightly lower at one per cent less than the figure for the same period in 2019.
As regards international trade, Indonesian automotive exports grew 115.3 per cent to 48,545 units in September, up 40 per cent compared to September 2019.
Cumulative y-t-d exports were up 61.1 per cent y-o-y to 334.489 units, up 0.7 per cent compared to total car exports in 2019.
Meanwhile, imports in September were up 83.3 per cent y-o-y to 8,760 units, or a growth of 38 per cent compared to the same month in 2019. Cumulative imports grew 57.6 per cent y-o-y to 59,125 units, up 3.4 per cent compared to September 2019.
Toyota, which has the largest share of the domestic market, however, saw its September sales contract 1.8 per cent y-o-y to 33,449 units, but this was still an increase of five per cent compared to the same month in 2019. Honda, which has the third largest market share in Indonesia, saw its sales skyrocket 287.3 per cent y-o-y in September to 13,394 units, up seven per cent from September 2019.
When the pandemic emerged in early 2020, domestic car sales were significantly hit by the measures to curb COVID-19, with total car sales contracting 48.5 per cent to 532,407 units.
Last year, transmission of the Delta variant battered the country’s economic recovery, and although overall car sales increased 66.8 per cent to 887,202 units, this was still a 13 per cent contraction compared to the figure in 2019.
Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/indonesias-domestic-car-sales-up-19pc-in-september-immune-to-fuel-hike/