Astra Introduces New Low-Cost Green Car

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, September 19, 2012

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Astra International on Wednesday introduced its new low-cost green car, with the price tag expected at less than $10,000.

To be sold as both the Toyota Agya and Daihatsu Ayla, the car is being produced cooperatively by Toyota Motor Corporation and Daihatsu Motor Company. It is the third car collaboration between Toyota and Daihatsu, after their Avanza-Xenia and Rush-Terios models.

“We believe with the fuel subsidy difficulties, low fuel consumption cars will get a positive response,” said Prijono Sugiarto, the president director of Astra International. “The demand for environmentally [friendly] cars is increasing along with global warming. This car answers both problems.”

“The designer of the car is an Indonesian named Mark Wijaya,” Prijono added.

The car reportedly consumes just one liter for every 30 kilometers driven. The aluminum-bodied “city car” carries up to five passengers.

The car will be produced in the new factory of Astra Daihatsu Motor in East Karawang, West Java.

Amelia Tjandra, marketing director for Astra Daihatsu Motor, said the price of the car, with four variants, will range from Rp 75 million ($7,900) for the most basic option (without AC, power steering, radio) to Rp 105 million.

“The price is subject to change depending on the government’s policy [on low-cost green cars, or LCGC], but people can start booking,” Amelia said.

Sudirman MR, president director of Astra Daihatsu Motor, said the price could be below Rp 100 million if the government freed up LCGCs from additional luxury goods taxes.

National Electric Car Can Begin Mass Production in 2013: Dahlan

Jakarta Globe, July 16, 2012

Depok Mayor Nurmahmudi Ismail, in the driver’s seat, tests an electric
 car on Jatimulya in Depok in West Java, on Friday. The car, which was
 invented by Depok resident Dasep Ahmadi, reportedly runs 150 kilometers,
 or between four and five hours on a single charge. (Antara Photo/Indrianto
Eko Suwarso)

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State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said on Monday that the country can begin mass production of the national electric car as early as next year after doing a test drive of its prototype on Monday. 

“If the infrastructure is ready, we can start mass producing the car with a capacity of 5,000 units per year,” he claimed. 

The minister drove the prototype of the Ahmadi Mesin 5.0 electric car, which was named after its maker Dasep Ahmadi, 48 kilometers from its garage at Jati Mulya, on the outskirts of Jakarta, to the Research and Technology Ministry building on Jalan Thamrin in Central Jakarta. 

The prototype so far only has a local police road certificate since regulations on taxes and registrations for electric vehicles, which do not fall under existing categories, have yet to be put in place.

Dahlan said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already instructed the ministers for industry, research and technology and trade to work on the necessary regulations. 

“Within the next three months, there should be a clear technical guide for commercial regulations, so that the car can be mass produced,” Dahlan said. 

Besides Ahmadi’s electric car, there are four other versions in the final stages of completion under the minibus, city car and sports car categories.

Antara

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Homegrown Electric Car Can Go the Distance: Govt

Homegrown Electric Car Can Go the Distance: Govt

Jakarta Globe, June 24, 2012

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Indonesian scientists have unveiled an electric car that they claim can travel 150 kilometers on a single charge, further than most electric city cars available today.

Two prototypes of the car were rolled out on Thursday at the National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta by researchers from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

“This car is fueled entirely by electricity and is not a hybrid vehicle,” said Agus Hoetman, an adviser to Research and Technology Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta.

“We are currently testing it for urban use,” he said, adding that the car was particularly suited for the stop-start driving pattern in a congested city environment.

“This car saves energy because there are no parts in the engine that need to keep moving when the car is stationary during a traffic jam. That’s different from gasoline-fueled cars,” he said.

Agus said the car had a range of up to 150 kilometers on a single charge, further than the 60-145 kilometers currently available from electric cars with a top speed of less than 100 kilometers an hour.

He said that in a recent test, the researchers almost managed to complete a round trip from Jakarta to Bandung on a single charge. The distance each way is about 130 kilometers.

Hatta previously said the government was earmarking Rp 100 billion ($10.6 million) for the development of an Indonesian-built electric car by four state universities. He said the universities were expected to present their designs soon, before production could begin sometime in 2014.

The minister also said that LIPI had been allocated Rp 1.2 trillion to develop an electric minibus capable of carrying up to 16 passengers.

Antara

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Cars for high officials to switch from gasoline to gas

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 01/16/2012

The government plans to equip all official cars used by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Cabinet members and other high-level state officials with gas converter kits as part of the oil-to-gas conversion program.

“We have appointed [state-owned aircraft maker] PT Dirgantara Indonesia to produce the kits. But if the company fails to provide all the demanded kits, we will import more kits to fill the gap,” Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister Agung Laksono told reporters at the presidential office on Monday.

Agung added that the government expected to reach its goal by April.

The oil-to-gas conversion campaign was launched to support government plans to limit the amount of subsidized fuel used by private cars in Java and Bali, which will be gradually carried out from April.

The government hopes the program will allow it to reduce the fuel subsidy.(dic)

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Public cars to get free gas converter kits: Govt

Public cars to get free gas converter kits: Govt

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 01/09/2012

The government plans to distribute free natural gas converter kits to public transportation vehicles as part of the subsidized fuel limitation program, said Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa on Monday.

"We have not decided the scheme for private cars yet but numerous possibilities of incentives are on the table. For instance, we can subsidize the loan interest [for those who buy the kits through credit]," Hatta told reporters at the Presidential Office.

State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia is reportedly prepared to produce the kits and supply them to support the conversion program.

The government has announced the plan to limit the use of subsidized fuel by private cars on the islands of Java and Bali, starting in April.

The government has begun campaigning on the plan this week.

The Finance Ministry said the government has allocated Rp 900 billion (US$ 99 million) for the fuel-to-gas conversion program.

Part of the funds will also be used to support the development of new gas stations.

Hatta said that the government would prioritize the construction of new gas stations along the route of public transportation.

"Our target is to produce the kits and construct as many gas stations as possible," he said.

Lawmakers Now Interested in Student-Made Car

Jakarta Globe, Anita Rachman & Antara, January 04, 2012

The Solo mayor’s Kiat Esemka brand sport utility vehicle, which is priced
 at Rp 95 million ($10,500), was built by students at SMK (vocational school)
2 Solo and assembled using almost all locally produced components. (JG Photo)

         

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Some lawmakers, who last year were criticized for ostentatious lifestyles and flashy cars, have expressed interest in following the Solo mayor’s example and driving a locally made car.

Solo Mayor Joko Widodo, or Jokowi as he is better known, is now using a car assembled by SMK 2 Solo students along with Kiat Motor, while his deputy, F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo, is using a car assembled by the students of SMK Warga Solo, also in cooperation with Kiat Motor.  

The 1.5-liter engine Sport Utility Vehicles cost about Rp 95 million (Rp 10,500) each. 

On Wednesday, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that he wanted to see and try out the car branded “Kiat Esemka” — a reference to how SMK (vocational high school) is pronounced, and Kiat Motor, one of the biggest car repair shops and dealerships in Solo.  

“I will visit it,” Marzuki said. “We should support its production so we could have an Indonesian built car.” 

Asked whether he would buy the car, Marzuki said: “If I have enough money, I’ll buy it.” 

A number of lawmakers are reportedly planning to order the car.  

A lawmaker from the United Development Party, Arwani Thomafi, said he really wanted one.  

“I’m not only interested, but desperate to see and try the car made by our people,” Arwani said. “Who else should buy it but us?”

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INDONESIA: BMW starts assembling 5-series in Indonesia

Just-Auto, Tony Pugliese, 15 December 2011

BMW has begun assembly of its 5-series in Indonesia, at the PT Gaya Motor plant in Jakarta which is owned by its local distributor PT Astra International.

The plant, which also makes the 3-series model as well as vehicles of other brands, has an initial capacity of four 5-series units a day. This will be increased to eight in early 2012. Around 80% of local 5-series sales are expected to be assembled at the plant.

BMW sold 1,399 units in the January-November period of 2011, including 496 3-series and 394 5-series.

Two Japanese firms ready to relocate plants to Indonesia

Antara News, Tue, November 1 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Two Japanese companies are ready to relocate their plants from Thailand to Indonesia because of protracted flooding in the former, an official said.

"Because of the floods we have received a request from Japanese automotive and electronic manufacturers to relocate their plants from Thailand to Indonesia," the deputy for industry and trade to the coordinating minister for economic affairs, Edy Putra Irawady said here on Tuesday.

Edy said at least four companies, three of them from Japan and one from Europe, intended to relocate their plants to Indonesia.

The companies were automotive and electronic manufacturers which were currently operating in Thailand, he said.

"Two of the four companies are really new investors, while two others intend to relocate their plants and they are Japanese companies," he said.

But the companies had yet to file a formal request to the Indonesian government, he said.

"They phoned us to ask what incentives the Indonesian government can give to them if they relocate their plants here. For instance, will they receive tax holiday or not?," he said.

But Edy stopped short of revealing the names of the Japanese companies.

Asked whether they were large-scale automotive and electronic manufacturers such as Honda and Nissan, he said they were in the same class as the two Japanese companies.

He said two automotive companies which intended to expand their investment in Indonesia were Toyota and Mercedes Benz. Toyota planned to raise its investment by Rp7 trillion next year.

"They will make Indonesia their production base for their exports," he said.

Editor: Suryanto

Toyota Toots Its Horn Over Massive New W. Java Plant

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, September 13, 2011

Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda arrived in style in Jakarta on Tuesday,
posing beside an orange 1977 Toyota Kijang, a popular model during the
company’s four decades in Indonesia. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)    

          

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Toyota’s supply chain may have been hit by the impact of the March tsunami in its home country of Japan, but the automotive maker is pushing ahead with expansion plans abroad, including in Indonesia.

Visiting the archipelago to mark 40 years of Toyota’s presence here, Akio Toyoda, the company’s chief executive, formally announced its plan to build a second plant in West Java.

Toyoda met Indonesia’s president and vice president on Tuesday, as well as an Industry Ministry official, to provide details of Toyota’s Indonesia plans.

“Our expansion plan shows our commitment to Indonesia,” Toyoda said, after briefly driving an orange 1977 Toyota Kijang, once the company’s most popular model.

Toyoda said Indonesia had become a focus of investor attention and a leader among developing nations as economies in Japan and Europe were clouded by economic crises.

Despite global production plans being disrupted by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Toyoda said that by June, Toyota had recovered “100 percent,” ahead of initial projections.

This was “thanks to the hard work and support of our people and thanks to the support from other countries like Indonesia,” he said.

Toyota announced it would build its second factory in a 76,000-square-meter facility next to its existing plant in Karawang, 60 kilometers east of Jakarta.

Toyota increased its investment to Rp 2.9 trillion ($336 million) from the Rp 1.7 trillion it committed in March in a sign of the growing automotive demand in Indonesia.

The factory is expected to be completed by 2013 and add 70,000 units of annual production capacity. Toyota is also keen to boost the local content of its cars and hopes the factory will generate 15,000 jobs.

Toyota expects to boost its exports from Indonesia, which last year represented 42 percent of its 107,000 unit output in the nation.

Toyota leads the market in Indonesia with a 37 percent share. Toyoda attributed that success to the Kijang, a family van.

“It’s the road that makes the car. Making cars that suit the characteristics of Indonesian roads is our way to catch our customer,’’ Toyoda said.

The Toyota Kijang has been sold in Indonesia for three decades. “Together with the Kijang Innova, these two models are our stars,” Toyoda said.

Johnny Darmawan, the president director of local distributor Toyota Astra Motor, said the trend in Indonesia was toward multipurpose vans to accommodate families, while there was also likely demand for a low-cost hatchback.

“We are also looking to export some of the cars produced in the new plant, but our priority is still satisfying the local demand,” he said.

Johnny said Toyota and the government were still in talks over tax incentives, but that infrastructure such as ports was more important.

Edwin Sebayang, the head of research at MNC Securities in Jakarta, said Indonesia’s growing economy and easy financing would drive car sales.

“It’s not surprising at all that automotive companies are posting high revenues with high margins,” he said.

Toyota to build new factory in Indonesia-Nikkei

Reuters, Sept 9, 2011

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp plans to spend nearly 30 billion yen($387.8 million) to build an assembly plant in Indonesia that it hopes to launch in the first half of 2013, the Nikkei business daily reported.

The plan calls for nearly doubling the firm's capacity in that country to about 200,000 vehicles a year, the paper said.

The decision comes after three years of holding off judgement on any plant construction in Japan and abroad, said the business daily.

Japan's leading carmaker seeks to maintain its lead in Indonesia, which is set to become Southeast Asia's largest auto market, the Nikkei said.

The new facility will be built adjacent to its existing factory in the Jakarta suburbs of Karawang and is expected to assemble three subcompact models, including a low-priced strategic vehicle under development for that country, the paper reported.

Last year, auto sales in Indonesia was around 750,000 units, approaching Thailand's roughly 800,000, with the number seen exceeding 1 million units in the coming years, the paper said.

Toyota controls about 60 percent of the Indonesian market when contributions by group firms such as Daihatsu Motor Co are included. But as competition grows with Nissan Motor and Suzuki Motor announcing plans to boost output, Toyota aims to improve cost competitiveness through increased local production, the Nikkei reported.           

(Reporting by Sumit Jha in Bangalore;Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

General Motors to Invest $150m in Indonesia Plant

Jakarta Globe, August 12, 2011

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Detroit. General Motors Co said on Friday it will invest $150 million to reactivate a plant in Indonesia to build a “people mover” van for Southeast Asia.

The No. 1 U.S. automaker said the Bekasi plant in West Java, Indonesia, will begin production of the vehicle in 2013 and build 40,000 of the vans a year, ultimately creating more than 800 jobs.

GM, which said it will add new manufacturing equipment at the plant, did not disclose further details about the vehicle, including its name, design specifications or pricing.

GM said the Indonesia plant will mean an expansion of GM’s dealer network in that country and it will join with its Rayong, Thailand, and Hanoi plants to support growth in the region.

Last year, GM’s sales in Indonesia rose 72 percent to 4,500 vehicles. They were up 18 percent in the first six months of 2011.

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Nissan to invest $320 mn in Indonesia plant

Yahoo/AFP, 26 July 2011

Japanese Nissan Motor said Tuesday it plans to invest $320 million in Indonesia to more than treble production capacity at its West Java factory and set up a new engine assembly plant nearby.

"We plan to increase production capacity at the plant from 50,000 vehicles per year to 180,000 vehicles for each year by 2013," Nissan Motor Indonesia vice president of sales and promotion Teddy Irawan said.

"This September we'll complete the first phase of the capacity expansion to increase production from 50,000 units to 100,000 units. In the next phase, we'll raise capacity from 100,000 units to 180,000 units," Irawan said.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, is seeking billions of dollars in foreign investment to help it achieve target of 7.0-percent growth by 2014.

The archipelago aims to attract private investment of up to $465 billion by 2025.

Chrysler Unveils $100m Indonesia Plan

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, July 22, 2011

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US automotive giant Chrysler is planning to spend $100 million in the next three years to expand its business in Indonesia, capitalizing on the fast-growing demand for premium cars, a company executive said on Friday.

The Detroit-based Chrysler will use the funds to open 18 dealerships across the country, said Ferial Fahmi, president director of Garansindo Inter Global, the sole licensed distributor of Chrysler cars in Indonesia.

“Since 2009, we have spent $10 million to open five dealerships across Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. We want to have 23 dealerships across Indonesia in the next three years,” he said .

Chrysler may also be looking to open a factory in Indonesia, he said, but did not elaborate.

Speaking on the sideline of the 19th Indonesian International Motor Show, Ferial said the expansion was aimed at boosting Chrysler’s market share in the premium segment in Indonesia. “We’re hoping we can become one of the top two brands in the premium segment,” he said.

In Indonesia, Chrysler plans to sell brands including the Chrysler 300C, Cabriolet Sebring, the Dodge Journey and Jeep models Wrangler Sahara, Wrangler Rubicon and Patriot. The brands are all completely built-up units.

According to the Indonesia Car Industry Association (Gaikindo), an estimated 5,000 premium cars were sold last year. The segment is currently dominated by European car makers, including BMW and Mercedes Benz.

Ferial said that Garansindo Inter Global was on track to reach its sales target of 700 units this year.

Meanwhile, Panggah Susanto, director general for manufacturing industry at the Industry Ministry, said Chrysler was considering opening a factory in Southeast Asia.

“Meeting with Peter MacKenzie [Chrysler’s Southeast Asia regional manager] on Thursday, he said the company was looking to build a manufacturing base in Southeast Asia,” Panggah said. “Indonesia is one of the countries they are eyeing.” No further details were provided on the development of a manufacturing plant.

Industry analysts welcomed plans by Chrysler and other global automotive producers to consider setting up manufacturing plants in Indonesia as a show of confidence in the automotive industry in the country. Car makers ranging from Indian low-cost manufacturer Tata Motors to premium brand BMW have stated an interest in expanding their business here.

It was revealed on Thursday that Tata had launched a feasibility study into the notion of opening a factory to produce its Nano model in Indonesia.

Astra Daihatsu Motor, the sole distributor of products from Japanese firm Daihatsu, has announced a Rp 2.1 trillion ($246 million) investment plan to build an 80-hectare factory in Karawang, West Java, to raise annual output to 430,000 units.

The BMW group has announced it would be spending Rp 100 billion to double its capacity, while Suzuki has announced an $800 million expansion over the next two years.

As many as 32 authorized sole license holders and 227 automotive-related industries are participating in the motor show at Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran.

World’s Cheapest Car to Be Made in Indonesia: Report

Jakarta Globe, July 11, 2011

Netherlands Ambassador to India Bob Hiensch posing at the wheel of
a Tata Nano in New Delhi in 2010. The world’s cheapest car is likely to
 be manufactured in Indonesia, a report said on Monday. (AFP Photo)

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The world’s cheapest car, the Nano produced by Indian carmaker Tata Motors, is likely to be manufactured in Indonesia, a report said on Monday.

The Bangkok Post reported that Indonesia had appeared to win out over Thailand as the production base for the vehicle.

The newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said that as Indonesia had “offered more attractive incentives, Tata decided to shelve the expansion plan in Thailand.”

Reasons included Thailand’s lack of political stability and automobile tax structures.

The Post reported that Tata was hoping to produce 50,000 Nanos a year at a plant in Jakarta from 2013.

“It plans to export the cars to Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines as it is banking on their large populations and big demand for low-cost cars.”

S Korean tire maker to invest Us$353 mln in RI

Antara News, Thu, June 9 2011

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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - South Korean tire maker Hankook Tire will invest 353 million US dollars in Indonesia to build factories that are to employ a total of about 2,800 people by 2018.

"Building a factory in Indonesia which is in the middle of the global market is a decision that will be beneficial for the economy of Indonesia and also Hankook Tire," said CEO of Hankook Tire, Seung Hwa Suh, at the inauguration of a tire plant in Bekasi, West Java, on Thursday.

In the initial phase, he said, Hankook Tore will invest 353 million US dollars with an initial production capacity of about 6 million tires per year.

Hankook Tire also plans to have hired about 1,400 workers by 2014 and 2,800 by 2018.

"Hankook Tire is to make a strategic investment in Indonesia to meet the high demand for high-quality tires for its globally expanding business," he said.

Indonesia is considered a promising country because it is one of the world`s largest rubber producers with a total production of 2.92 million tons in 2010.

In addition, tire sales in Indonesia in 2010 increased by 23 percent from 2009, or approximately 49.5 million tires.

The factory which is worth a total of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars is planned to have four major production facilities covering an area of ​​60 hectares and will become an export base for the North American market and the Middle East as well as a regional hub for developing countries in Asia.

In addition to the factory in Bekasi, Hankook Tire also has two factories in South Korea, three factories in China, and one factory in Indonesia.

"The new plant will open an important opportunity for us to improve our global status into the top five," said Seung Hwa Suh.

Meanwhile, Minister of Industry, MS Hidayat expressed happiness for the fact that Hankook Tire has choosen Indonesia as a location to develop a global business strategy.

Head of Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Gita Wirjawan believe the investment will improve bilateral relations between Indonesia and South Korea.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

Chandra Asri to build first butadiene factory in Indonesia

Antara News, Fri, June 3 2011

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (CAP) through its sister company, PT Petrokimia Butadiene Indonesia, will build the first butadiene factory in Indonesia.

For this purpose, the company appointed Toyo Engineering Korea Ltd as a contractor which had passed successfully the process of tender on May 27, 2011, the director of PT. Petrokimia Butadiene Indonesia, Suhat Miyarso said here on Thursday.

Butadiene is a combined raw material to produce synthetic rubber for tire and plastic-related automative components.

The appointment of Toyo Engeering Korea Ltd as the contractor practically marks an immediate construction of butadiene factory in Indonesia.

According to him, the Toyo Engineering Korea Ltd company submitted the best bidding prices among other three bidders from Korea and Italy.

The bidders which participated in the tender of butadiene factory construction were those who ever built such similar factories in other countries and had been granted with licenses from BASF. Of the whole criteria, Toyo Engineering Korea Ltd was named the winner, Suhat said.

Marked with the laying of ground breaking stone, the construction will be started in July this year on a 40,000 meters squire land still within the complex of the PT. Chandra Astri Petrochemical in Cilegon, Banten province.

Furthermore, Suhat said the construction work could be expectedly completed in 23 months under EPC contract (Engineering, Procurement and Construction). Hopefully, this first butadiene factory in Indonesia will come into commercial operation in May, 2013.

The total value of investment for the factory construction may reach USD110 million with a planned production capacity of about 100,000 tons per years.

He further stressed that most of the factory?s products would be used to meet domestic and export demands by applying such a license from BASF. The raw material for the production of butadiene like cruder C4 would be mostly supplied by PT. Chandra Asri Petrochemical and small portion of raw materials was to be imported.

According to Suhat, butadiene could be further processed into SBR (styrene butadiene rubber), ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), SBL (styrene butadiene latex) and others.

SBR can be further used as raw materials to produce synthetic rubber, constituting components for tire and plastic related automative components industries.

So far the need for butadiene in Indonesia is still imported from foreign countries such as Korea and Japan.

With the operation of PT. Petrochemical Butadiene Indonesia later, the tire producers and national automative components will be able to trim the import cost, thus increasing the scale of production in addition to strengthening domestic petrochemical and automotive industries capable of recording a significant progress.

With domestic production of butadiene, all kind of tire production costs could be reduced, thus paving the way for national tire industries to make a speedy progress in the years to come, Suhat said

Editor: Suryanto

BMW to Double Domestic Capacity in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Faisal Maliki Baskoro, May 31, 2011

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Luxury carmaker BMW has announced that its local unit will invest Rp 100 billion ($11.7 million) over the next two years to double its production capacity.

Luxury carmaker BMW has announced that its local unit
will invest Rp 100 billion ($11.7 million) over the next two
years to double its production capacity. (JG Photo)

“BMW’s growth in Indonesia has been wonderful,” Graeme Grieve, global vice president of BMW, said in Jakarta at the local unit’s 10th anniversary on Tuesday. “Indonesia’s robust economic growth and promising future are the reasons behind our expansion.”

Grieve said the expansion, scheduled to start in September and finish in March, would double daily automobile output by modernizing the assembly line of partner Gaya Motor, a unit of Astra International.

“Production capacity will increase from four cars per day to eight cars per day,” he said. “In the long term, we expect to have a production capacity of 3,000 units per year.”

After officially launching the convertible 650i and 640i at the anniversary party, Grieve added that the production facility would also begin assembling BMW 5 Series midsize sedans in addition to the 3 Series. The Mini luxury economy car will also arrive in the market by the end of this year.

“With a worldwide sales volume of 230,000 units, the Mini is a leader in the compact premium car market segment,” he said. “We believe the Mini will be very successful here.”

BMW Indonesia’s car sales increased 38 percent last year to 1,500 units from a year earlier, more than double the gain in the broader auto sector. “Sales in Indonesia are relatively small compared to our worldwide sales of 1.5 million units, but we have identified Indonesia as a growing market,” Grieve said.

Ramesh Divyanathan, president director of BMW Indonesia, said the company had seen an average sales increase of 30 percent over the past three years. “BMW’s market share in the luxury car segment also increased to 27.9 percent in the first four months this year from 7.7 percent in the same period last year,” he added.

Car sales in Indonesia are projected to grow by as much as 15 percent to 850,000 units on the back of increasing purchasing power and auto financing.

Volkswagen to build factory in Indonesia soon

Antara News, Thu, May 5 2011 

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - European car maker Volkswagen will soon build a factory in Indonesia or at the end of 2011 at the latest, Industry Minister MS Hidayat said.

"I have had a talk with them (Volkswagen) about their plan. They already have a blueprint on the project," said Hidayat after attending the ASEAN-UE business summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) here on Thursday.

Volkswagen had been exploring the possibility of setting up a production facility in Indonesia for the past three years and now it was hoping to realize it later this year, Hidayat said.

Volkswagen`s intention to expand its business in Indonesia was in line with the European country`s plan to increase its investment in Indonesia, especially in the automotive sector which had huge market potential.

Hidayat, however, did not mention the amount Volkswagen would invest in Indonesia.

The minister said the German auto maker`s plan to set up shop in Indonesia was in line with the exhaust emission standards campaign in 2012 towards Euro-3.

"This is good news for the domestic automotive industry because the European automotive industry has no base yet in Indonesia where the market is so far dominated by Japanese and Korean brands," Hidayat said.

According to earlier reports, the investment value of the would be Volkswagen factory in Indonesia was about 35 million euro and it was expected to absorb 2,000 to 4,000 workers.

The ASEAN summit is scheduled to take place at the Jakarta Convention Center on May 7-8, 2011.

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

Daihatsu Motor to invest $400m in Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 03/16/2011

Automaker Daihatsu Motor Company Ltd on Wednesday announced plans to invest US$400 million on its factory in Indonesia.

“The investment will not only be allocated to expanding the existing factory, but also to improve its technology and development,” Astra Daihatsu Motor president director Sudirman said after a meeting with Vice President Boediono on Wednesday, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

With the investment, the Daihatsu factory will have an expected production capacity of 100,000 vehicles a year and absorb 1,400 workers. At present, the company produces 330,000 vehicles in Indonesia each year.

“We will export 15 percent of our output,” Sudirman said.

Mitsubishi to invest $18 billion in 4 projects

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 03/07/2011

Japan-based Mitsubishi Corporation will invest US$18 billion in Indonesia over the next five years for car production, infrastructure development, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and ferronickel smelting, according to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

BKPM chairman Gita Wirjawan said on Friday that Mitsubishi was targeting to produce two million cars in Indonesia within five years. Mitsubishi’s car production was up almost 58 percent to 106,483 units in 2010, up from 61,735 in 2009.

As the factory construction would take one year, Mitsubishi would produce 500,000 cars a year beginning in 2012, Gita said.

He said Mitsubishi also planned to develop infrastructure projects in big cities called Metropolitan Priority Areas (MPA), including Jakarta.

Gita said part of the planned investment would be used to finance the construction of a LNG plant near the Donggi and Senoro gas fields in Central Sulawesi.

Mitsubishi is cooperating with state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina and private firm PT Medco Energi Internasional.

Gita said Mitsubishi was also taking part in the establishment of a ferronickel smelting plant in Teluk Weda, Halmahera, North Maluku, in cooperation with Eramet of France and state general mining company PT Aneka Tambang. (lfr)