Indonesian vehicle sales drop 5% in March
New vehicle sales in Indonesia declined by 5% to 70,892 units in March 2025 from 74,720 units in the same month last year, according to wholesale data compiled by the local automotive industry association Gaikindo.
The market last month came up against already weak year-earlier volumes, when sales dropped by 24% from peak post-pandemic levels. Market sentiment has weakened significantly in the last year, with fewer consumers committing to large purchases, while companies also face growing uncertainty with regard to international trade following the recent import tariff hikes in the US.
Bank Indonesia has reduced its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.75% from peak levels in August 2024, with the latest 25 basis-point cut made in January to help offset the hike in the VAT rate from 11% to 12% at the beginning of the year. The recent rupiah weakness against the US dollar and other major currencies means that further interest rate cuts are unlikely in the coming months.
In the first quarter of 2025 the country's vehicle market shrank by 4.6% to 205,160 units from 215,069 units in the same period last year, with sales of passenger vehicles falling by almost 5% to 162,388 units while commercial vehicle sales fell by over 4% to 42,772 units.
Toyota's sales increased by 5% to 68,955 units year-to-date, helped by strong demand for models such as the recently-launched Hilux Rangga and the Innova MPV, while other Japanese brands have come under strong pressure from the growing presence of Chinese brands - which are driving up demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the country. Daihatsu's first-quarter sales plunged by 24% to 34,999 units; followed by Honda with 22,336 units (-20%); Mitsubishi 17,481 units (-8%); and Suzuki 14,174 units (-20%).
Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surged almost threefold to 16,770 units year-on-year in the first quarter, with BYD accounting for 5,718 of these, SAIC-GM-Wuling 2,806 units and Chery Automobile 2,520 units.
Overall vehicle production in the country fell by just over 2% to 288,012 units in the first quarter, while exports of fully-assembled vehicles increased by 2% to 110,133 units.
"Indonesian vehicle sales drop 5% in March" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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