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March car sales skid despite festive season, holiday bonuses
Earlier this year, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita floated a proposal urging car manufacturers to lower new vehicle prices in a bid to reignite demand.
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Ready to roll: New cars are parked at a factory on March 13, 2024, in Bojomangu, Bekasi Regency, West Java. According to data from the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), wholesale car sales in February reached 70,656 units, up about 1.5 percent from January’s 69,617 units. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
I
ndonesia’s car sales slumped in March after a slight uptick in February, recent data show, bucking expectations that Idul Fitri festivities and annual holiday bonuses (THR) would boost demand.
Wholesales, or factory-to-dealer shipments, dropped 5.1 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 70,892 vehicles, down from 74,720 units in the same month last year, according to the monthly data released by the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers Association (Gaikindo).
Retail sales, reflecting direct consumer purchases, fell even further, plunging 6.8 percent yoy to 76,582 units.
Read also: Car sales plunge further in another bad start to the year
Compared with February, monthly wholesales in March slipped 2 percent, while retail sales jumped 9.6 percent month-to-month (mtm), rebounding from February’s 69,872 units.
Toyota and Daihatsu, brands under conglomerate Astra International, led with the largest wholesales number, selling 22,476 and 13,057 units, respectively in March, according to Gaikindo data.
The slump comes despite the seasonal uptick normally triggered by Ramadan and Idul Fitri spending, which economists often view as a temporary shot in the arm for consumption.
