Hyundai Maximizes Exports Amid Domestic Market Decline

KatadataOTO – Throughout 2024, the domestic automotive market has been sluggish due to several factors. Among them are the general election, discussions about implementing a surcharge, and conflicting information about incentives for hybrid cars, which are claimed to have caused consumers to postpone their purchases.

PT HMID (Hyundai Motors Indonesia), as a vehicle manufacturer, has also felt the impact. Referring to Gaikindo data, Hyundai's retail sales were at 22,097 units, a decrease from the 35,736 units achieved in 2023.

To continue maximizing factory capacity, Hyundai stated that they are also focusing on exports.

“So if domestic demand falls and production capacity is high, we will definitely look for markets outside of our production location,” said Fransiscus Soerjopranoto, Chief Operating Officer of PT HMID in Lampung some time ago.

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He further emphasized that domestic car wholesales have dropped from around one million units to only 800 thousand units.

Therefore, their production capacity is then maximized for other markets, such as the Middle East and South America.

“Exports are one of our goals to increase production capacity in Indonesia, because the investment is already there,” he said.

Speaking of sales projections for 2025, Frans is confident that the figures can return to 65 thousand to 70 thousand units per month.

Considering that several government policies have now been set, such as the VAT increase to 12 percent and the provision of a 3 percent hybrid incentive for models that meet the requirements.

Thus, it is hoped that consumers will no longer postpone vehicle purchases because there is clarity from stakeholders.

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To boost consumer interest, Hyundai's strategy remains the same as the previous year, which is to introduce various new models.

This is not limited to electric vehicles but also includes gasoline-powered and hybrid cars. The latest news is that PT HMID will soon enter the same segment as the Honda WR-V by bringing in the Venue.

“We promise a minimum of seven new models. As mentioned earlier, we will certainly also push for the ecosystem and other infrastructure, hopefully Hyundai will recover better,” he affirmed.