Toyota Indonesia Reveals Challenges in 2026 Vehicle Export Market

KatadataOTO – Toyota reveals that 2026 will be a challenging year for the vehicle export market. This is because there are many difficult situations to overcome, requiring companies to be astute in handling them.

One of them is the implementation of protectionist policies by several destination countries for vehicle exports from Indonesia.

“The main challenges faced include a global economic slowdown, an increasing trend of protectionism in various countries, and stricter tariff policies in several key markets,” said Bob Azam, Vice President Director of PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) to KatadataOTO (06/01).

One of the countries implementing such protectionist policies is Mexico. The country believes that too many cars from Asia are being sold in its market, leading it to tighten vehicle imports, especially from Asia.

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The goal, of course, is to protect the domestic automotive industry.

However, the impact of this policy cannot be seen instantly. Toyota Indonesia believes that automotive products are not something that can be easily replaced.

Moreover, they will provide a variety of products to meet the market needs in other regions. Thus, car exports can continue to grow in the future.

“Along with the increasing mobility needs and diversification of export markets, the competitiveness of Indonesia's automotive products must continue to be improved. This includes through the development of environmentally friendly vehicles,” added Bob Azam.

Toyota has indeed been exporting hybrid vehicles to various countries. These models are the Yaris Cross and Innova Zenix.

Furthermore, the Toyota Veloz Hybrid, which was introduced late last year, is also slated to be exported to various countries. Thus, it is hoped that the export market will grow even larger.

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It should be noted that from January to November 2025, Toyota has exported at least 159,366 cars. That number is an increase of 8,020 units compared to the same period the previous year, or about 5.3 percent.

Toyota has become the manufacturer with the most vehicle shipments abroad. They control 35.3 percent of the total national car exports.