Two Chinese Car Brands Cancel Indonesia Sales This Year

KatadataOTO – Various Chinese car brands have been confidently and ambitiously conquering the Indonesian automotive market recently. Last year, a dozen Chinese brands introduced their products before starting to sell cars in the country.

Many of them are still surviving into 2025. However, brands like Neta are struggling to compete and their sales have dropped drastically since July, and then there are two brands that have gone silent.

Chinese car brand The first is Smart. At the GIIAS 2024 event, the manufacturer, in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, introduced the Smart #3.

Smart's presence at GIIAS 2024 drew attention because the brand had previously been active in Indonesia from 2010-2014.

Photo: Smart

They used to bring in the compact Smart Fortwo and Cabriolet cars. However, there was little interest, which led them to eventually leave the country.

After changing their global strategy and seeing great potential in Indonesia, they returned under the auspices of Mercedes-Benz Indonesia.

“We want to first ensure that we have done everything according to regulations, so the sooner the better, but with professional preparation. Within this year, I cannot give a specific date,” said Mandy Zhang, Chief Marketing Official Global Smart, on the sidelines of GIIAS 2024.

However, upon its debut, Smart will face stiff competition from other brands like BYD. Additionally, Smart's product line targets premium-class consumers.

According to information from a Mercedes-Benz salesperson, the price range for a Smart car is Rp 1 billion and up.