Tuesday July 11, 2:22
PM
Indonesia June
vehicle sales down 50 pct
JAKARTA, July 11 (Reuters) - Indonesia's vehicle sales fell 50.26
percent in June from the same month last year, as the industry
struggled with weak consumer spending and high interest rates, an
industry official said on Tuesday.
Jodjana Jody, head of sales at PT Toyota Astra Motor, told Reuters
that June sales volumes reached 24,564 units, recovering slightly
from 23,022 units in May.
June's volumes took first-half sales to 149,829 units, down 49.34
percent from the same period last year.
The local unit of Toyota Motor Corp , the world's second largest
car-maker, had said its June sales volumes were down 45.8 percent
to 8,646 units.
Toyota Astra Motor, owned by the country's largest automotive firm,
PT Astra International Tbk , is the distributor for Toyota vehicles
in the world's fourth most populous nation.
Singapore's Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd controls Astra
International.
Indonesia's auto sector is suffering from a government decision
last year to sharply hike domestic fuel prices to scale back costly
fuel subsidies following high international oil prices.
The country's automotive industry association has predicted sales
would only reach between 370,000-400,000 units this year, but its
chairman recently told Reuters it would be hard for the sector to
book sales of 350,000 units in 2006.
The forecasts were far below record high sales of 533,910 units
posted last year, when interest rates were at a record low.
Astra's shares have fallen nearly 3 percent since the start of the
year, while the overall market has gained 15.2 percent over that
period.
