"As long as the public's purchasing power increases, car sales will remain high next year. So far, there is no sign of a slowdown in the demand for four-wheeled motor vehicles," Gaikindo spokesman Yongkie D. Sugiarto said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) has expressed optimism that car sales in 2013 will increase by 10 percent, compared with this year`s figures, because of positive macroeconomic trends.

"Due to the positive macroeconomic trends in the country, car sales have already reached one million units this year," Gaikindo spokesman Yongkie D. Sugiarto stated here on Monday.

"As long as the public's purchasing power increases, car sales will remain high next year. So far, there is no sign of a slowdown in the demand for four-wheeled motor vehicles," he noted.

According to Sugiarto, the Indonesian automotive market has benefitted from the nation's economic growth, rupiah exchange rate stability, security and political stability, interest rates and liquidity.

"The economic growth rate of over 6 percent has been a decisive factor in the development of automotive industry because it is related to people's purchasing power," he explained.

"As regards interest rates and liquidity, 70 percent of Indonesia`s consumers buy cars through a line of credit," Sugiarto continued.

"If things remain the way they are right now, the automotive market in 2013 will grow by 10 percent. But what we are afraid of is the new syariah rule, which mandates that the minimum down-payment requirement for cars be raised to 30 percent of the sales price. The regulation will come into effect from April 2013," he continued.

However, Sugiarto pointed out that the projection of 10 percent growth had not taken into account low cost and green car (LCGC) sales.

"The market of LCGC is projected to reach 150,000 units per year. If the LCGC car costs Rp80 million per unit, the national automobile industry will see an additional turnover of around Rp12 trillion per year," he added.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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