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New models spice up auto show despite market slump

Undeterred by weak demand across the industry, car makers have rolled out their latest models at Indonesia’s biggest auto show

Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post)
Fri, August 21, 2015

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New models spice up auto show despite market slump

U

ndeterred by weak demand across the industry, car makers have rolled out their latest models at Indonesia'€™s biggest auto show.

Toyota'€™s managing officer and president director of Toyota Astra Motor, Hiroyuki Fukui, said the company had launched the Toyota Mirai, the world'€™s first mass-produced fuel-cell car as part of its commitment to providing a completely innovative, fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicle of the highest performance.

'€œOur second new product is the Toyota i-Road, an electric car, because we currently serve as the global leader in hybrid technology, which is proved by the sale of over 7 million units of various hybrid products since 2007,'€ Fukui said during the launch ceremony at the Gaikindo International Indonesia Auto Show (GIIAS) on Thursday.

In addition, Fukui said Toyota was also introducing its latest hybrid vehicle for Indonesia, the Alphard Hybrid, as well as improved existing products, such as the Grand New Avanza and Grand New Veloz.

Fukui said the company decided to launch new products because Indonesia, Southeast Asia'€™s biggest economy, had become one of Toyota'€™s key countries in its global operation thanks to the country'€™s position as a key manufacturing and exporting base for vehicle components.

Shipments of Toyota vehicles in the first half of this year amounted to more than 93,000 cars or around 86 percent of Indonesia'€™s total auto exports, according to company data.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors CEO Tetsuro Aikawa said the company, which introduced the All-New Triton, had decided to put its main focus on pick-ups, sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and electric vehicles to strengthen brand awareness in Indonesia.

Aikawa said that construction of Mitsubishi'€™s new assembly plant in Bekasi, West Java, had begun in March and was expected to start production in April 2017 to support its exports to the ASEAN region.

'€œWe don'€™t aim for top-three biggest player [ranking] in Indonesia right now, but we will increase volume and market share,'€ Aikawa said.

Suzuki Indomobil sales director Davy Tuilan said the company had launched several products with a price range of between Rp 177 million (US$12,732) and Rp 200 million at the exhibition as part of its efforts to maintain its market share at 15 percent.

Meanwhile, Astra Daihatsu Motor president director Sudirman Maman Rusdi said the company was showcasing nine existing and modified models, including the Great New Xenia, as it had seen steady sales of its major product, the Xenia, of 5,000 units per month.

In the premium segment, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW are competing with each other to grab the limited market of high-end customers amid weak sales.

The exhibition, which runs until Aug. 30, is hosting 320 exhibitors, consisting of vehicle manufacturers and automotive-component makers.

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