The Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) hopes that the organization'€™s upcoming auto expo will not only attract local car enthusiasts but also overseas buyers.

Gaikindo'€™s deputy chairman Jongkie Sugiarto said on Thursday that the association called on its members to invite their global counterparts to attend the event so that they could see the rapid progress of the country'€™s automotive industry.

With their presence, Indonesian cars would be better exposed to foreign buyers, and exports could also be increased to help local producers offset the decline in car sales in the domestic market, he said.

This year'€™s event would be moved to Southeast Asia'€™s largest expo center, Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, after six years being held in Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

Jongkie said the association decided to move its annual exhibition, which is now in its 23rd year, as the new venue met international standards and could accommodate more visitors.

The Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) will use a total of 60,000 square meters of indoor space of the ICE to display all 32 brands participating in the show, including commercial vehicles. The exhibition will take place Aug. 20-30.

'€œWe want to have more visitors not only from Indonesia but also foreign investors to see our products, to see what kind of products they can sell in their respective countries,'€ he said during his visit to The Jakarta Post'€™s office.

'€œWe have now sold more cars than Thailand. It is about time we boost our exports and become a global base for production.'€

Thailand '€” a regional vehicle production and export base for the world'€™s top carmakers '€” saw sales tumble by 34 percent last year to 888,200 units, largely resulting from political unrest.

Meanwhile, Jongkie said the domestic industry had the capacity to produce up to 1.9 million cars a year, and local car makers sold only 1.2 million cars last year, leaving an abundance of excess capacity.

This year'€™s sales, however, are projected to fall short in closing the gap, on the back of the country'€™s slowing economy and currency depreciation against the US dollar.

Data from the association showed that car sales plunged by 16.26 percent year-on-year to 363,945 units during the first four months of the year, thus making overseas expansion more imminent.

Jongkie said, however, that incentives from the government were needed to support the effort to boost exports such as by lowering the sales taxes for sedan and smaller sport utility vehicles (SUV), which are more popular than low-tax multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) overseas.

With such a tax incentive, the production of sedans and SUVs will be financially viable for the local producers to build production facilities. By doing so, they will not only be able to meet the demand from local buyers but also for overseas market, he added.

Sedans and SUVs make less than 1 percent of domestic sales and production, according to Jongkie, mainly because such vehicles are subject to a 30 percent luxury tax that makes them far more expensive than MVPs, subject to a 10 percent tax.

Gaikindo no longer uses the name Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS), now that its contract with event promoter Dyandra Promosindo '€” part of Kompas Gramedia Group '€” expired. Gaikindo is now working with promoter Seven Events for the upcoming exhibition.

Dyandra, meanwhile, will continue the IIMS in JIEXPO, with the schedule coinciding with the Gaikindo schedule.

Seven Events president director Andy Wismarsyah said he was upbeat that the exhibition could meet its targeted visitors of 380,000 people, despite being held in the same week with IIMS.

He said that he expected new visitors would come from BSD and other townships located nearby.

GIIAS will come with four new brands, which are Lexus, Maserati, Porsche and Rolls Royce. Thirty two brands are expected to be displayed in the show, with 25 passenger car brands and seven commercial car brands. The event committee provides feeders in 19 pick-up points across Greater Jakarta to transport visitors.

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