New Delhi. Senior executives at Ford Motor Company have said Indonesia could host a production facility for the US automaker in the near future as the country shows potential to overtake Thailand as the biggest car market in Southeast Asia.
Thailand is currently Ford?s primary production hub in Southeast Asia, producing 425,000 units annually that serve demand in the region.
?We think Indonesia will be the largest market in Asean. I cannot say exactly when. Thailand is a larger market today, but we believe Indonesia will pass Thailand eventually,? Joe Hinrichs, Ford?s president of the Asia Pacific and Africa, said at a dinner with journalists in New Delhi on Wednesday.
?We believed Indonesia?s growth potential is significant, and I am so excited about Ford?s presence there.?
The reporter was in New Delhi at the invitation of Ford, which paid for the trip.
Thailand was the largest car market in Southeast Asia in 2010, with 857,00 units sold, while Indonesia came second with 764,000 units sold.
Bullish Indonesian automotive executives in December estimated that the nation was on track to sell about 870,000 units in 2011.
Sudirman Maman Rusdi, the chairman of Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), has projected that Indonesia could sell 1 million units by 2013.
Analysts say consumer-related sectors, including automotive, will see stronger demand as rising per capita incomes and a low-interest environment spur consumption.
Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of Ford, echoed Hinrichs. ?Over time, we?ll have our operation there, too, because the market is great,? he said.
He also did not mention a specific timeframe for the siting of an Indonesian production facility.
Ford introduced a new compact sport utility vehicle, called the Ford EcoSport, at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi. The company did not indicate when the product would enter the Southeast Asian market, but it said it would be the third out of eight products the company aims to introduce by mid-decade.
Ford does not manufacture in Indonesia. Rival carmaker General Motors announced last year that it would invest $150 million to reactivate its assembly plant in Bekasi.
Although a small player in the Indonesian car market compared with Japanese giants such as Toyota and Mitsubishi, Ford has seen strong growth in its car sales. In the first 10 months of 2011, it sold 13,819 units, a 152 percent rise from the same period in the previous year.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ford-bullish-on-indonesias-car-market/489652
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