Toyota Stops Delivery of Yaris Cars to Indonesia

Jakarta (Antara) - Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp. has stopped production of its hatchback, Yaris, in Thailand and halted the delivery of 1,500 CCsedan cars to Indonesia, said an executive from the Indonesian branch of the company. "Toyota Motor Corp's last Yaris delivery to Indonesia was in last June," President Director of PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) Johnny Darmawan told Antara here on Friday. Therefore, the sales of Yaris in Indonesia have registered a continued decline since June this year. The company sold 2,341 Yaris sedan cars in May this year, but the figure dropped to 1,739 the following month. The sales of the city car models declined further to 1,192 in July and fell sharply in August and September to 32 and 14, respectively. However, according to Johnny, the Japanese automotive firm will not stop producing Yaris cars permanently. "The TMC is now (in the process of) remapping its global car production," he said. He forecast that the company will unveil new models of cars aimed at young consumers early in 2014. "For the time being, the marketing for the car is pending the issuance of a completely new type of Yaris cars. This is only a time lag," he said. Since Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT) has stopped production of Yaris cars in Thailand, it is anticipated that TMC will relocate its production base to Indonesia. He said TMC Executive Vice President Director Yukitoshi Funo had touched upon this (relocation of production base) on the sidelines of a special interview with journalists during the Indonesian International Motor Show (IIMS) in Jakarta in 2012. "Toyota in Thailand will focus on the production of eco-cars in accordance with the need and policy of that country," Johnny explained. (*)