medcom.id, Jakarta: PT Ford Motor Indonesia (FMI) this week made announcement that they are about to close down by the end of 2016. This is not the first time American automotive brands struggle in the country.
Last year, Chevrolet closed its assembly plant in Bekasi and PT Mabua Harley-Davidson (MHD) closed its dealer in Jakarta.
Chevrolet decided to close its factory since it cannot compete with Japanese branded cars, in terms of price and promotion. Meanwhile, Harley-Davidson store was closed for efficiency purpose.
"The extremely difficult economic condition finally affected our sales. As a form of efficiency, we regret to say that the dealer in Iskandarsyah is closed," said Djonie Rahmat, Director of MHD when he announced the decision.
2015 was a hard year for the automotive industry. The national car sales went down 16 percent on wholesales and 13 percent on retail.
Promotions, discounts, and easy installments have become the main weapons of the Japanese brands to survive. On the other side, most Japanese brands have factories in Indonesia to cut costs.
It is a disadvantage for American brands that they are unable to compete at the same level. American cars mostly come from Thailand, South Korea, or even directly from the United States, which affect the costs.
Although it no longer has factory, Chevrolet still stay in business. The company recently introduced its new SUV product, Chevrolet Trax, to Indonesia. However, Ford apparently has different opinion about Indonesian market.
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