SUZUKI PLANS LARGEST APV PRODUCTION CENTRE / INDOMOBIL SEES 10% RISE IN SALE OF SUZUKI MOTORCYCLE
Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp said it has decided to make Indonesia the largest production center for its all purpose vehicle (APV) in the world.
Suzuki APV cars will be produced in Indonesia not only for the domestic market but also for the export market, said its managing director Shinzo Nakanishi.
Suzuki is expanding production facilities outside Japan, and Indonesia has been chosen to become the production center for APV cars, Nakanishi said after the launching of a Suzuki APV car in Jakarta late July.
Suzuki has 16 production facilities in 15 countries, with 129 sales agents in 125 countries.
Earlier, Indonesian car maker Indomobil has said it will start producing 5,000 units of APV cars in August in cooperation with Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp.
Indomobil President Soebronto Laras said his company will have an annual production capacity of 70,000 units of APV cars with a local content of 80 percent.
He said up to 35,000 units of the APV cars will be exported to other Asean countries, Latin America and Taiwan.
APV cars include pickup, delivery vans, standard minibus, luxurious minibus and super luxurious minibus.
Indomobil, meanwhile, has forecast a 10 percent increase in its sales of Suzuki motorcycles this year. This will expand its market share to 25 percent from the current 20 percent.
President Laras said competition in the motorcycle market in the country is getting fiercer. He predicted motorcycle sales in the country will increase by around 700,000 units this year from 3.3 million units in 2003.
He said demand for Suzuki motorcycles is high and the company has to cope with the fast growing demand. He said Suzuki motorcycles already have a local content of 95 percent.
