BAIC Targets Vietnam and Brunei Markets for BJ40 Plus Exports

KatadataOTO – BAIC Indonesia has confirmed that one of its vehicle models, the BAIC BJ40 Plus, will be locally assembled starting in May 2025. Gradually, the model's TKDN (Local Component Level) is targeted to reach 40 percent.

Not only aimed at the domestic market, BAIC has also expressed its interest in exporting vehicles to several countries in Southeast Asia.

According to BAIC, there are several target countries for vehicle exports.

“For example, Vietnam, even though it's still left-hand drive. Or Brunei, even though it's a small market, we can go there,” said Dhani Yahya, Chief Operating Officer of BAIC Indonesia, when met in Alam Sutera some time ago.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Dhani continued that the discourse on easing TKDN regulations, which was mentioned by the government, also needs to be balanced with FTA (Free Trade Agreement) provisions.

“For us, besides local TKDN here, we are also looking at how we can explore the Southeast Asian market,” said Dhani.

It should be noted that trade agreements like AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) have been proven to strengthen Indonesia's automotive exports.

The regulation governs agreements between related countries to ease export and import tariffs.

Regardless of the easing of TKDN regulations, Dhani emphasized that BAIC will continue with local assembly and pursue a TKDN of at least 40 percent for the BJ40 Plus.

“Of course, in the next year and a half, we want to achieve 40 percent TKDN. This means we will have the opportunity to export to neighboring countries,” he asserted.

For your information, BAIC is one of the Chinese automotive manufacturers that did not immediately bring in electric cars to market.

They first launched two gasoline-engine vehicle models, namely the BJ40 Plus and the X55-II crossover SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle).

Photo : KatadataOTO

BAIC decided to locally assemble the BJ40 Plus first due to better sales figures. This model also has a greater potential for export in the future.

Meanwhile, the X55-II has just received a refresh and an additional variant priced under Rp 400 million to increase its sales figures.

This is because throughout 2024, only 70 units of the BAIC X5-II were sold. Some consumers apparently provided feedback to replace the Beijing logo on the hood and tailgate to make the model more easily accepted by the public.