TOYOTA STRENGTHENS COMMERCIAL CAR MARKET

Jakarta, Dec 18 (ANTARA) - The president director of PT Toyota Astra Motor, Johnny Darmawan, said the Hino-Toyota collaboration in producing light trucks was Toyota's global strategy to strengthen its commercial market segment.

"This is the Toyota Group's global strategy upon which production of Toyoto Dyna trucks will be handled by Hino which is also the subsidiary of Toyota Group. The Toyota Group admitted Hino has better competency on commercial vehicles," he said here on Friday in response to a question on the Toyota-Hino collaboration.

He said Toyota moved its Toyota Dyna truck production to PT Hino Motors Manufacturing Indonesia's (HMMI) plant in Purwakarta, in line with the Toyota Group's strategy to optimalize the competence of its subsidiary and boost control in the commercial car market especially light two-ton capacity trucks.

The cooperation was marked by the extension of the capacity of HMMI's plant in Purwakarta from 10,000 units to 35,000 units a year.

The extension project which requires an investment of US$33 million was officiated at by Vice President Boediono.

Johnny said before the collaboration production of Dyna trucks in Indonesia was handled by PT Sugity Creative Indonesia. For the production switch Toyoto produced an additional investment of US$17 million to increase the quantity of production in the plan to reach up to 30,000 units a year.

He hoped the collaboration would be a repeat success of the same strategy Toyota Group had taken for producing small multi-purpose vans Avanza-Xenia and sport utility cars Rush-Terios.

The two products are able to control the market in their class. He said Avanza had even been recorded as the best selling cars this year with sales reaching more than 100,000 units.

From January to November this year the sale of Toyoto Dyna trucks have reached 7,501 units or 16.8 percent of the market while the sale of Hino Dutro reached 4,144 units or 9.3 percent of two-ton capacity truck market.
Johnny hoped the Toyota-Hino collaboration could be the beginning of the step to make Indonesia its light truck production base.

With the economy starting to recover nationally or globally he said he was optimistic commercial car market would improve.

"In view of the government's statement that the country's economy could grow 5.5 to 6.5 percent next year we believe the commercial car market will grow faster," he said.

Like in the collaboration with Daihatsu, the cooperation with Hino could happen because Hino or Daihatsu are part of the Toyota Group which holds 50.11 percent shares in Hino Motors and 51.19 percent shares in Daihatsu Motors Company.

The managing director of TMC, Mitsuhiro Sonoda, said on Thursday that Toyota and Hino had actually conducted cooperation in several countries in the production of spareparts or completely-built up cars.

The cooperation in Indonesia has made the HMMI the biggest Hino plant and the first producer of vehicles for Toyota Motor Company outside Japan. "The cooperation will further optimalize the truck making structure of Toyota Group in Indonesia," Sonoda said.