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uzuki Indomobil Motor, a local subsidiary of Japan'€™s fourth biggest automaker, Suzuki Motor Corp., officially launched Thursday its maiden exports of the low-cost green car (LCGC) Karimun Wagon R to Pakistan, further strengthening its position as one of the country'€™s major car exporters.

Suzuki'€™s move followed on the heels of Toyota, which in February started exports of its LCGC, the Agya, to the Philippines.

Suzuki vice president Toshihiro Suzuki said the exports to Pakistan of the inexpensive and fuel-efficient vehicles would expand the reach of new cars produced in Indonesia to areas outside the Southeast Asia region. Suzuki began selling a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the Ertiga, to Thailand in May last year and to Brunei Darussalam in April.

'€œIndonesia has been and will always be our most important base for our business in ASEAN. We will attempt to increase the efficiency of our production and raise our sales from Indonesia,'€ Suzuki said during a ceremony to mark the launch of the car exports to the South Asian country.

Suzuki'€™s Indonesian sales rose by 2 percent to 2.71 million vehicles in the last fiscal year ending in March, while its sales in ASEAN surged robustly by 19 percent in the same period thanks to the introduction of the Karimun Wagon R in Indonesia, following the launch of the Swift in Thailand and the earlier introduction of the Ertiga in Indonesia.

Indomobil, the manufacturer and authorized dealer of Suzuki in Indonesia, already exports cars and motorbikes in the form of completely-knocked down (CKD) as well as completely-built up (CBU) vehicles to 84 countries.

Its car exports to the 84 countries include various models, namely the Grand Vitara, Swift, Ertiga and the make'€™s All-Purpose Vehicle (APV). Prior to the Wagon R, Indomobil already shipped APV cars to the Pakistani market. In Pakistan, the Wagon R will come in three variants.

The local Suzuki unit aims to export 50,000 four-wheelers and 190,000 two-wheelers in the next few years.

To support that export target, along with its domestic sales target, Indomobil is finishing the construction of an integrated production facility in Cikarang, Bekasi, West Java. However, it already kicked off operations at its engine plant in the compound in April and will commence the operation of the car assembly plant early next year, with an annual capacity of 125,000 units.

At present, the firm operates an assembly plant in Tambun, Bekasi, with a total production capacity of 228,000 units each year and an engine plant in Cakung, East Jakarta.

Davy Tuilan, the sales director of Suzuki'€™s local marketing arm, Suzuki Indomobil Sales, said that he was upbeat about the sales outlook in Pakistan, where Suzuki already holds a 55 percent market share.

'€œWith the 55 percent, Suzuki'€™s brand image in Pakistan is already strong. When we introduce a new product at the entry level, the market will surely absorb the car well,'€ he said.

In terms of domestic sales, Indomobil expects to grab a 20 percent share in the LCGC market, where it faces tight competition with the Toyota Agya, Daihatsu Ayla and Honda Brio Satya. Currently, Indomobil holds a 15.8 percent share of national sales.

Sales of the Karimun Wagon R, introduced late last year, will have a significant impact on Indomobil'€™s target to reach 16.7 percent of the domestic market that, according to business groups, will total 1.2 million units, up from 13.3 percent last year.