Domestic Car Sales Growth 12 Pct in H1

Jakarta, July 3 (ANTARA) - Domestic car sales in the first half of 2011 grew 12.2 percent to 415,276 units from 370,214 units in the same period last year, data show. The data were based on wholesales until dealer level, PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) Marketing Director Joko Trisanyoto said here on Sunday. "Retail sales reached 418 thousand units. This means that car stocks at sole agents have been declining," he said. Even car stocks at PT Toyota Astra Motor had now come close to zero due to high demand, he said. He said a number of car makers, including Toyota, Honda and Nissan faced production obstacles in the aftermath of March 11 quake and tsunami, prompting sole agents to hold their stocks despite rising demand, he said. He predicted that car production and sales in July would be higher than in June although it still would be lower than in March. The domestic car production and market largely depended on the post-tsunami recovery in Japan as Japanese cars controlled the domestic car market. "In July car demand and sales will definitely be higher than in June, reaching 70 thousand units. But the figure is still lower than the car sales of 82,166 units in March," he said. Joko said Toyota Astra Motor which currently leads the Indonesian automotive market saw its car sales grow 57.1 percent to 26,034 units in June 2011 compared with June 2010.