by Nurul Fitri Ramadhani
JAKARTA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is ready to welcome more Chinese cars, including electric vehicles (EVs), to enter its automotive industry this year, after the wholesales of cars from its biggest trading partner recorded a significant increase throughout 2021.
Chery and BYD are two Chinese automotive brands that are ready to hit Indonesia's market, the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) said, adding that they will add the three Chinese brands that have enlivened the car industry to Southeast Asia's largest emerging market, namely Wuling, DFSK and MG.
Gaikindo's Secretary General Kukuh Kumara said on Monday that Chery would offer three SUV (sport utility vehicle) cars - Tiggo 4 Pro, Tiggo 7 Pro, and Tiggo 8 Pro - under PT Chery Motor Indonesia.
The Chinese brand is not a newcomer in Indonesia's car industry as it first entered the country in 2006 under Indomobil Group, selling city cars and Tiggo SUV, before it closed in 2013.
PT Chery Motor Indonesia's Marketing and Product Director Qin Gang said a statement on Monday that Chery had gained popularity and been recognized in the global market in recent years, so he was confident that the brand would make a profit in Indonesia's market as well.
He said that to date Chery has exported its vehicles to more than 80 countries and recorded a total of 10 million users worldwide. The automotive company also has 10 factories and 1,500 dealers and outlets overseas.
Meanwhile, BYD would focus on EVs and it would not only offer low-priced EVs to the market but also plan to build a production facility in Indonesia, according to Kumara.
"The plan will be highly welcomed by Indonesia's automotive industry as the country is currently on the track to push the production of EVs," Kumara said.
Indonesia is on the way to pushing EV usage in a bid to support environmentally-friendly transportation, and the country has allocated 120 billion rupiahs (8.3 million U.S. dollars) to speed up the construction of EV infrastructures for 2022 and sought more investment.
Indonesia aimed to have more than 2.1 million electric motorcycles and 2,200 hybrid or electric cars on its roads by 2025.
Kumara said Indonesia has become a lucrative market for automotive products in recent years as the ratio of vehicle ownership in the country was still very low compared to other Southeast Asian countries, yet it has a large population of over 270 million, the fourth largest in the world.
In Indonesia, Japanese cars still dominate the market, but Chinese cars are getting more popular. Data from Gaikindo showed that the total sales of cars in 2021 reached 887,200 units, with Japan's Toyota still topping the list, followed by Mitsubishi.
China's Wuling ranked eighth on the list, making it one of the most popular Chinese cars in Indonesia, with the total sales reaching 25,546 units in 2021, up 288.5 percent from 2020. DFSK sold 2,933 units and ranked 12th before South Korea's Hyundai and Kia.
Indonesian news outlets reported that Chinese cars would be a strong competitor of Japanese cars as they could attract consumers in the country with their relatively cheap prices and advanced features. ■
