Car Owners Reportedly Switching to Motorcycles Due to Weakening Purchasing Power

KatadataOTO – Throughout 2025, sales of new cars have been very sluggish. However, the new motorcycle market appears stable, even slightly increasing.

Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing (YIMM) has tried to provide an analysis of why this could be happening.

According to the manufacturer with the tuning fork logo, this situation is not separate from the country's volatile economic conditions.

As a result, people are changing their choices in vehicle ownership. From initially wanting to buy a car, they are now purchasing a new motorcycle.

Photo: KatadataOTO

"This might just be an assumption, as we are promoting the premium category. It could be that with the decline in four-wheeled vehicles, they are switching to two-wheelers," said Rifki Maulana, Manager of Public Relations, YRA & Community at YIMM.

According to Yamaha, the option to buy a new motorcycle in 2025 is considered more budget-friendly.

This way, people can still get a new vehicle. And their savings are not disturbed.

"But what percentage and what the consumer characteristics are, I don't know yet. So that's the situation," Rifki continued.

Nevertheless, he hopes the automotive industry can recover. So that it's not just the new motorcycle market that is thriving.

But new car sales can also grow next year. Thus bringing a positive impact.

"Perhaps looking for another (cheaper) alternative is more accurate," Rifki emphasized.

For your information, according to data from the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI), shipments of new motorcycles from factories to dealers (wholesales) from January to November 2025 reached 5,950,844 units.

This figure has already surpassed last year's total of only 5,929,830 units. There is a difference of about 0.35 percent higher.

With an average wholesale of new motorcycles at 500 thousand units per month, it is not impossible for AISI's target of reaching 6.4 million to 6.5 million units to be achieved.

On the other hand, new car sales have experienced a significant contraction. Because it is at its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Photo: MG

Based on data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), wholesale of new four-wheeled vehicles from January to November 2025 only reached 710,084 units.

This figure is a correction of 9.6 percent compared to 2024. Because last year it was at the level of 785,917 units.

Meanwhile, in terms of retail sales, 739,977 units have been recorded since the beginning of the year. This is a decrease of 8.4 percent from 2024, which recorded 807,586 units.