The influx of Chinese cars into the Southeast Asian region, including Indonesia, has had a significant impact on Japanese cars. The presence of Chinese cars has actually led to a decrease in the sales of Japanese cars in the region.
Interestingly, only two Japanese car brands have experienced a different condition. Honda and Toyota have actually experienced increased sales in the Southeast Asian region despite being surrounded by Chinese-flagged cars.
Quoted from Wapcar, Sunday (12/5/2024), almost all countries in Southeast Asia are being flooded with Chinese cars. Their presence indeed disrupts the dominance of Japanese cars in the region, which has reached a market share of 70%.
“Japanese brands such as Toyota, Isuzu, Honda, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, and Suzuki control almost 70% of the new car market in this region. However, the arrival of China has changed that condition,” explained Wapcar.
The proof is that the Japanese car market in the Southeast Asian region has indeed declined. Last year, the total market share of Japanese brands in Thailand decreased by 7.6% to 77.8%. Meanwhile, Chinese car brands in the country doubled to 11%.
The same thing happened in Indonesia, where car sales in 2023 only reached 1,005,802 units. This sales figure is lower than the sales in 2022, which reached 1,048,040 units. Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Isuzu, and Daihatsu experienced declines. Interestingly, among them, there are two Japanese brands that experienced an increase, albeit small, namely Toyota and Daihatsu.
In Thailand, Toyota’s sales increased from 33.9% to 34.3%, even when the total industry sales volume decreased by 8.7% to 775,780 units. Like Toyota, Honda also increased its market share in Thailand, from 12% to 14%, against the declining trend of the industry.
In Indonesia, the situation is almost the same. Toyota’s market share increased by 1.6% to 33.5%, while Honda gained 5.9% to 13.8%.
Wapcar sees this condition occurring because many people in various countries in Southeast Asia still prioritize certainty and good after-sales service.
“Toyota and Honda may not offer the longest list of features or the lowest prices, but there is certainty and accuracy in their somewhat traditional-looking cars,” explained Wapcar.
Of course, this situation could change this year. Especially since the total number of Chinese brands active in this region will continue to increase.
Not to mention the fact that Chinese cars have not yet released all the models they own. Especially the cars that are the backbone of Chinese car company sales.
