Insider Stories - Indonesia car full year sales rose by10.2 percent to a record high 1,229,901 units, compared with 1,116,230 units in the previous year, according to data released by local industry association Gaikindo. In December tha car sales jumped by 9.2 percent to 97,691 units in December, from 89,456 units a year earlier.

Light passenger vehicle sales rose by 12.6 percent  to 879,507 units, including 51,180 low cost green cars (LCGC) which were launched in September.

Commercial vehicle sales were up by just 4.5 percent at 350,594 units, compared with 335,445 units previously.

Imports increased by over 22 percent to 154,014 units, to account for around 12.5 percent of the total market. The bulk of imports come from Thailand in the shape of passenger cars and pickup trucks. CBU exports accounted for 170,907 of these, with the Middle East and other ASEAN countries providing most of the demand. A further 105,380 mostly incomplete CKD kits were exported last year.

To grab the market demands, one of automotive company's PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) has officially opened its second factory in Karawang, West Java.

The new factory has total building area of 145,760 meter square and production facilities including stamping, welding, engine assembly, frame assembly, painting, plastic moulding and plastic painting. The development started with ground breaking on 4 June, 2012 alongside HPM’s first factory and it cost IDR3.1 trillion (US$260m).

Production capacity of 120,000 units per year takes HPM total output to 200,000 units per year. This factory has started with production of the Mobilio, a new model designed for Indonesia.

Takanobu Ito, president & CEO of Honda Motor said at the opening ceremony, this expansion of business in Indonesia to meet market demand reflects the Honda company principle to supply products of the highest quality.
Tomoki Uchida, president director of PT HPM added, the establishment of the new factory its an another step toward the company's target of achieving 300,000 units of sales in Indonesia in 2016.

Last year, Honda managed to set new record for its own sales in Indonesia with a total of 91,493 unitss or grown 132% from previous year. Moreover, Honda also able to increase its market share from 6.2% in 2012 to 7.5% by the end of 2013.

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