New vehicle sales in Indonesia declined by 15% to 60,613 units in May 2025 from 71,391 in the same month last year, according to wholesale data compiled by the local automotive industry association Gaikindo.
Last month the market declined from already-weak year-earlier volumes, when sales dropped by 13% from post-pandemic peak levels in the previous year. Market sentiment has weakened significantly in the last year, with fewer consumers committing to large purchases, while companies also face growing uncertainty regarding international trade following the recent import tariff hikes in the US.
The latest government data show that GDP growth slowed slightly to 4.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 5.0% growth in the previous quarter, with domestic consumption and exports both slightly weaker. Bank Indonesia cut its benchmark interest rate to 5.50% in May – the third 25-basis-point cut from last year’s peak of 6.25%.
Gaikindo’s deputy chairman, Jongkie Sugiarto, told local reporters: “Weaker purchasing power for new cars has become the main cause of the ongoing decline in auto sales.”
In the first five months of 2025, the vehicle market shrank by 5.5% year-on-year to 316,981 units after plunging by 21% to 335,405 units in the same period last year, with sales of light passenger vehicles falling by 5% to 248,897 units while commercial vehicle sales were down by over 6% to 68,084 units.
Toyota’s sales increased by 2% to 106,027 units year-to-date, helped by strong demand for models such as the recently-launched Hilux Rangga and the Innova MPV, while other Japanese automakers have come under strong pressure from the growing presence of Chinese brands – which are driving up demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in the country. Daihatsu’s sales plunged by 22% to 55,049 units; followed by Honda with 28,502 units (-29%); Mitsubishi 26028 units (-13%); and Suzuki 22,240 units (-22%).
Sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surged almost threefold to 30,152 units in the first five months of the year, with BYD and its Denza brand combined accounting for 15,978 units, followed by SAIC-GM-Wuling 4,735 units and Chery/Omoda with 4,081 units.
Overall vehicle production in the country fell by 1.4% to 466,290 units year-to-date, while exports of fully-assembled vehicles increased by over 7% to 192,501 units.
“Indonesian vehicle sales falls 15% in May” was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
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