New models flood RI premium car market

The competition in the luxury car market is getting tighter this year with the entry of several new models from expensive international car brands such as Audi and BMW.

PT Garuda Mataram Motor (GMM), the authorized dealer of German-brand luxury car Audi, will soon introduce several types, including the Audi A5 2.0 TFSI, A6 2.0 TFSI and New Audi Q3.

“We expect to sell around 600 units, up 80 percent from last year, as we will soon launch our superior products on the market,” GMM general manager Imelda Muhidin said on the sidelines of a preview of its sports utility vehicle, the New Audi Q3, set to enter the domestic market in the next few months.

Imelda said that despite the worldwide crisis, her firm was upbeat about reaching the target as the local premium car market was relatively stable and the rising middle class would continue to drive demand for luxury cars.

Last year, Indonesia was named the fastest growing market for Audi in Asia as sales rose more than 100 percent to 334 units, driven mostly by the Audi A4 (42 percent of total sales), Audi Q5 (22 percent) and Audi 6 (21 percent), she explained. Total sales of premium cars reached 6,105 units last year.

According to Imelda, to support its sales target, GMM will expand its outlets, mostly in Jakarta, home to 90 percent of its overall customers.

It also has dealers in Medan, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya. Several types, such as the Audi A4 and Audi A6, are assembled in Indomobil’s plant in Cakung, East Jakarta. Other types directly produced by Germany’s Volkswagen Group are imported in the form of completely built units (CBU).

The Indonesian unit of German automaker BMW, PT BMW Group Indonesia is set to introduce nine new models under the BMW brand, including BMW M5, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, and four models under the Mini brand such as the Mini Coupe. “For this year’s sales, we still rely on the BMW 3 Series, X1 and BMW 5 Series, which contributed largely to last year’s sales along with BMW X3,” BMW Corporate Communications Director Helena Abidin told The Jakarta Post.

Helena said that her firm anticipated sales would grow by “double-digits” as higher demand would be driven by the expanding middle class, enabled by the country’s robust economic growth.

The group sold 1,551 units last year, up 25 percent from a year earlier. It controlled around 25.4 percent of last year’s car sales.

“We are very optimistic about reaching the target and this is reflected by our plan to gradually raise production from four to eight units per day until the end of this year,” she said, adding that its Gaya Motor plant in Sunter, North Jakarta, would also assemble more new models for the local market in the future.

Last May, the BMW Group committed to investing Rp 100 billion (US$11.1 million) by next year to increase its production capacity and strengthen its sales and distribution network. This year, Imelda said, it planned to open three new outlets — one in Medan and two in Jakarta — to add to its existing 11 new-car outlets and one used-car dealership in the country’s major cities, including Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Denpasar, Banjarmasin and Balikpapan.

Earlier this year, the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) estimated that auto sales could slow down, growing by between 3 and 5 percent to 940,000 units this year. Last year, car sales reached 894,180 units, up 19.93 percent from 2010.