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Autopromotec 2019: new promotion road-show in Indonesia and institutional presence at INAPA
Mauro Paternò
Indonesia is, for several reasons, an area of interest for the whole automotive industry. In Jakarta, thanks to the full support of the local ICE office, the organizers of Autopromotec held meetings with the main stakeholders of the region, including an institutional participation to the latest INAPA event
After successfully closing the 2017 edition of Autopromotec, with record numbers as far as the presence of foreign automotive specialists – an encouraging 14% increase, not to mention official delegations from over 30 countries - promotional activities for the next event are now already underway.
Last October, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, were the first stages of this promotional tour and were soon followed by Indonesia, the first area chosen in the 2017 International Road-show program, with many more countries to follow.
Thanks to the full support of the local ICE office, meetings were held with the main stakeholders of the country followed by an institutional participation at the latest INAPA trade show, the main aftermarket event in the country, with a dedicated stand.
Why Indonesia? This is an area where preliminary activities had already been previously carried out, first through an in-depth study of the country which revealed its great potential, then a sizeable delegation of operators were invited to the last Autopromotec event, providing the opportunity to perform additional evaluations.
Here are some figures: Indonesia registers about one million new cars per year on average, taking into account the period between 2010-2016 (over 85% of which were Japanese brands), but, perhaps even more importantly, the country is “flooded” by 7 million new scooters, motorbikes and mopeds every year!
All this, together with the almost total absence of roads and traffic infrastructures, contributes to generating traffic jams and bottlenecks worthy of “Dante’s Inferno” throughout the streets of the capital Jakarta, as well as other major cities (source: GIAMM Indonesian Automotive Parts and Components Industries Association).
The economy is experiencing a fairly constant growth, around 5%, and yet this figure is not considered particularly encouraging, especially in view of the country’s recent ambitious infrastructural program (which includes creating or upgrading roads, bridges, railway lines, subway lines, and new airport terminals and facilities) that, unless financed by national funds, will probably see the predominance of Chinese investments.
The meeting with GIAMM’s general director, as well as with the organizers of both INAPA and IIMS (Indonesian International Motor Show) provided the perfect opportunity to understand how, such a potentially important country for the automotive sector, finds itself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, with Thailand’s growing research and development centres on the one side and Vietnam’s lower labour costs on the other, which facilitates setting up large production plants. However, local production of two and four wheel vehicles benefits greatly from heavy taxes on imported goods.
The fair was also the perfect opportunity to meet a number of national stakeholders as well as others from countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, while the presence of European operators was decidedly poor. Despite hefty import duties, distributors of Italian-made equipment have confirmed that, in the last two years, sales figures have been rather encouraging, while the specialized press (technical, motorcycle, automotive and industrial) displayed a strong interest in everything that is Italian, whether a technical device, a new motorbike or car, or even a trade fair ready to showcase the country’s industrial potential, precisely the case with Autopromotec which, for the first time, displayed its new institutional image.
Several local stakeholders are active in a few adjoining sectors and had already travelled to Italy in the past, visiting Eicma (Motorcycle Show) or EIMA (Agricultural Machinery Exhibition) and were amazed by what they saw.
Indonesia is a complex country with an equally complex market, this much is true; yet it is also full of great opportunities, which will require additional in-depth studies and contacts as well as a greater promotion of the Autopromotec brand. So far, the main objective of these activities is to create, within a year, of a group of companies interested in business network meetings, market opportunities and the search for local partners.
Last October, Colombia, Chile and Argentina, were the first stages of this promotional tour and were soon followed by Indonesia, the first area chosen in the 2017 International Road-show program, with many more countries to follow.
Thanks to the full support of the local ICE office, meetings were held with the main stakeholders of the country followed by an institutional participation at the latest INAPA trade show, the main aftermarket event in the country, with a dedicated stand.
Why Indonesia? This is an area where preliminary activities had already been previously carried out, first through an in-depth study of the country which revealed its great potential, then a sizeable delegation of operators were invited to the last Autopromotec event, providing the opportunity to perform additional evaluations.
Here are some figures: Indonesia registers about one million new cars per year on average, taking into account the period between 2010-2016 (over 85% of which were Japanese brands), but, perhaps even more importantly, the country is “flooded” by 7 million new scooters, motorbikes and mopeds every year!
All this, together with the almost total absence of roads and traffic infrastructures, contributes to generating traffic jams and bottlenecks worthy of “Dante’s Inferno” throughout the streets of the capital Jakarta, as well as other major cities (source: GIAMM Indonesian Automotive Parts and Components Industries Association).
The economy is experiencing a fairly constant growth, around 5%, and yet this figure is not considered particularly encouraging, especially in view of the country’s recent ambitious infrastructural program (which includes creating or upgrading roads, bridges, railway lines, subway lines, and new airport terminals and facilities) that, unless financed by national funds, will probably see the predominance of Chinese investments.
The meeting with GIAMM’s general director, as well as with the organizers of both INAPA and IIMS (Indonesian International Motor Show) provided the perfect opportunity to understand how, such a potentially important country for the automotive sector, finds itself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, with Thailand’s growing research and development centres on the one side and Vietnam’s lower labour costs on the other, which facilitates setting up large production plants. However, local production of two and four wheel vehicles benefits greatly from heavy taxes on imported goods.
The fair was also the perfect opportunity to meet a number of national stakeholders as well as others from countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, while the presence of European operators was decidedly poor. Despite hefty import duties, distributors of Italian-made equipment have confirmed that, in the last two years, sales figures have been rather encouraging, while the specialized press (technical, motorcycle, automotive and industrial) displayed a strong interest in everything that is Italian, whether a technical device, a new motorbike or car, or even a trade fair ready to showcase the country’s industrial potential, precisely the case with Autopromotec which, for the first time, displayed its new institutional image.
Several local stakeholders are active in a few adjoining sectors and had already travelled to Italy in the past, visiting Eicma (Motorcycle Show) or EIMA (Agricultural Machinery Exhibition) and were amazed by what they saw.
Indonesia is a complex country with an equally complex market, this much is true; yet it is also full of great opportunities, which will require additional in-depth studies and contacts as well as a greater promotion of the Autopromotec brand. So far, the main objective of these activities is to create, within a year, of a group of companies interested in business network meetings, market opportunities and the search for local partners.
