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GM crisis in US does not affect RI unit
Business as usual: A Chevrolet is on display at a dealership in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta
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Business as usual: A Chevrolet is on display at a dealership in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. PT General Motors Indonesia, the local unit of US-based GM Corp., which sells Chevrolets in Indonesia, said Monday the company would continue to invest in the country despite the problems of its parent company. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
PT General Motors Indonesia (GMI) will continue to operate and invest in the country despite the crisis being suffered by the parent company US auto giant General Motors Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection late on Monday.
In fact, the company will continue to expand in Indonesia, which GM considers one of its 11 largest emerging markets, along with Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey, said General Motor AutoWorld Indonesia (GMAI) managing director Mukiat Sutikno said on Monday.
GMAI — which sells Chevrolets — is part of PT GMI, which is 100 percent owned by GM Corp.
“All Chevrolet dealers in Indonesia will still operate as usual. We even plan to open four more dealers this year,” Mukiat told a media conference.
“Indonesia’s market is an important market for General Motors [GM], so we are trying hard to continue and expand our business here to be bigger than before.”
He added the company was targeting to be the fifth largest auto manufacturer in the country by the end of the year.
This year GMAI plans to sell 2.600 cars, and it sold 1,000 cars from January to May. It sold 789 cars in the first quarter, up from 675 cars in the same quarter last year.
“We also will launch new products from Chevrolet. It also will prove that GMIA is okay,” Mukiat added.
The optimism of GMAI and GM Indonesia as a whole is in contrast with its parent company.
The humbled auto giant that has been part of the American way of life for more than 100 year was once the symbol of American industry. In 1979, it employed 618,000 Americans, more than any other company. By early this year that figure had fallen to 88,000, according to AP.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy will help GM emerge with only its more profitable plants, brands, dealerships and contracts whilst unprofitable plants, contracts and other liabilities that the company can no longer sustain would be left behind.
The US government late last year began pouring billions into all three troubled automakers — GM, Ford and Chrysler — fearing that their collapse could push the struggling US economy into a full-blown depression.
“The US Bankruptcy filling procedure doesn’t mean that a company will be liquidated or go out of business. We also will benefit from this chapter as it means a fresh start, an opportunity to restructure or cancel certain obligations” Mukiat said.
Prospects in Indonesia remain very positive, with the company having opened new distribution outlets in Cirebon in West Java, Jambi in Sumatra, Pontianak in Kalimantan, and Sorong in Papua.
Mukiat added that GM Southeast Asia and GM Asia Pacific would continue normal operations, while GM Corp. in the US would speed up the rebuilding process at the US court.
Operations in assembling and production facilities in Thailand, as well as of suppliers will operate on a business as usual basis. GM cars entering Indonesia are completely built up from plants in Thailand and South Korea.
In terms of market shares, GM cars remain small as compared to other much bigger Japanese manufactured rivals. (naf)
