he local unit of German car manufacturer Daimler AG says it wants to assemble more product lineups in Indonesia to help boost sales and increase the utilization of its local plant.
President director of Mercedes-Benz Distribution Indonesia (MDI), the local distribution unit of the firm, Roelof Lamberts, said Tuesday that his side was considering assembling the entry level cars A-Class and B-Class in its plant in Wanaherang, Bogor, West Java after the E-Class recently.
If realized, the two models will add to six models already produced there, namely the mid-size luxury sedan E-Class, the high-end luxury sedan S-Class and the sport utility vehicle GLC, GLS and GLE.
"Hopefully we can create more demand by adding more types to the local lineup in the future,” said Lamberts during the launch of the locally assembled E-Class.”We have already produced the high end state of the art S-Class, so there is still a room below the C-Class, which belongs to the compact segment.”
(Read also: Mercedes-Benz begins local assembly of CKD E-Class)
However, Lamberts said the local production of the additional lineup would not occur this year, but instead following the launch of the new generation of A-Class worldwide.
The third generation of the hatchback A-Class has been produced globally since 2012.
MDI marketing communication deputy director Hari Arifianto said the Wanaherang plant was able to produce 6,000 cars each year, but last year only assembled 3,371 cars, equal to 56 percent utilization rate. (lnd)
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