Vietnam ranks as the world’s third-largest market for imported assembled cars in Indonesia.

According to data from the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo), the number of cars exported from the country reached 505,134 units in 2023. This is a 6.7% increase compared to the 473,602 units in 2022.

According to Kukuh Kumara, the Secretary-General of Gaikindo, the largest importer of locally assembled cars in Indonesia last year was the Philippines. Specifically, in 2023, 159,121 locally assembled cars in Indonesia were exported to the Philippines. This accounted for 31.5% of the total number of cars exported from Indonesia in 2023.

Meanwhile, Mexico was the second largest importer of locally assembled cars in Indonesia, with 56,483 units, accounting for 11.1%. In the second half of 2023, Mexico restricted the import of cars from Indonesia due to trade imbalances.

Similar to Indonesian customers, Mexican consumers also prefer 7-seater MPVs. The majority of the locally assembled cars exported from Indonesia to Mexico are Toyota Avanza, Toyota Veloz, Suzuki Ertiga, Honda BR-V, Mitsubishi Xpander, and Hyundai Stargazer.

In the case of the Philippine market, there is a more diverse range of imported cars from Indonesia. However, multipurpose vehicles like the Toyota Fortuner, Toyota Innova Zenix, Toyota Rush, Suzuki APV, Suzuki Carry, and Isuzu Traga still dominate.

The third largest market for imported locally assembled cars in Indonesia is Vietnam. In 2023, Vietnam imported a total of 40,241 cars from Indonesia. Some of the imported car models from Indonesia that are currently available in Vietnam include the Hyundai Stargazer, Mitsubishi Xpander, Honda BR-V, Toyota Yaris Cross, and Toyota Innova Cross.

However, in the past year, Vietnam imported more locally assembled cars from Thailand with 53,942 units, reaching a trade value of $1.14 billion. Locally assembled cars in Thailand accounted for 45.35% of the volume and 40.46% of the total car import value of Vietnam.

“Our largest export markets are the Philippines, Mexico, and Vietnam. Interestingly, despite having many Japanese car manufacturers in Indonesia, we still export cars back to the land of the rising sun,” Kukuh said.

In addition to the Philippines, Mexico, and Vietnam, Indonesia also exports cars to many other markets around the world, such as Saudi Arabia (40,289 cars), Thailand (37,004 cars), the Middle East and Africa (25,287 cars), Japan (23,260 cars), Peru (14,501 cars), the United Arab Emirates (13,951 cars), and Kuwait (9,178 cars). In total, Indonesia currently exports cars to more than 93 countries worldwide.

Top 10 countries and regions with the highest imports of locally assembled cars from Indonesia in 2023

Kukuh hopes that by 2025, the number of cars exported from Indonesia will reach one million units.