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talian luxury car manufacturer Maserati has appointed PT Auto Trisula Indonesia as its official importer for the Indonesian market, replacing its old partner PT Tiara Cahaya Otomotif, which sold the brand through a Ferrari-Maserati showroom.

The new brand holder and sole agent launched on Wednesday the new Maserati Ghibli, which will sell for Rp 1.7 billion (US$143,824) off-the-road starting Wednesday, with a waiting period of three to four months.

Maserati Indonesia did not disclose its sales expectations as the headquarters had yet to set a maximum sales quota, according to CEO Fransiska Renata Palupi.

Tiara Cahaya Otomotif as the previous importer sold 20 Maserati cars last year, mainly the Quattroporte four-door sedan, which proved popular in Indonesia as it represents 80 percent of the total 100 Maserati cars in the country. The new Maserati Ghibli is expected to be as popular, according to Fransiska.

Gaetano Marino, Maserati's sales director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said the Indonesian market had the potential to boost his company's global sales target of 50,000 units each year.

Maserati will invest Rp 15 billion in Indonesia for a new showroom in Jakarta next year, which will replace the current one in Fatmawati, South Jakarta, Fransiska said.

'We hope we can open another showroom in Surabaya [East Java] in the next two or three years. We choose Surabaya because it is the second-biggest city after Jakarta and has a rising high-end community,' she added.

Maserati Indonesia expects the market for premium cars to rebound following a drop in sales for most luxury brands due to the newly implemented luxury tax, the weakening rupiah and as the election season hurt demand.

The newly implemented 125 percent luxury tax (PPnBM) has deeply affected most brands of premium cars, which were registered under the Eurokars Group of Companies ' a private-car distributorship in Indonesia and Singapore.

Government Regulation No. 22/2014 raises luxury tax to 125 percent from 75 percent previously for sedans or station wagons with gasoline-engines above 3,000 cc, as well as diesel or semi-diesel above 2,500 cc.

The older types of Maserati cars were highly impacted by the new tax rule as the Granturismo runs on an 4,244 cc engine and GranCabrio on 4,691 cc. Meanwhile, the newer types have lower engine displacement, with the Quattroporte and Ghibli each having about 3,000 cc engines. (gda)