Indonesian vehicle sales surge 32% in August

Indonesian vehicle sales surge 32% in August

Wed, September 16, 2026 at 3:13 PM GMT+3 3 min read

New vehicle sales in Indonesia surged by a further 32% year-on-year to 81,756 units in August 2026, up from weak year-earlier sales of 61,771 units, according to wholesale data compiled by the local automotive industry association, Gaikindo. The market last month was driven higher by strong demand for trucks and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

In the first eight months of 2026, the country's vehicle market expanded by 20% to 599,491 units, after declining by 11% to 499,315 units a year earlier, with sales of light passenger vehicles rising by over 13% to 437,374 units, while commercial vehicle sales increased by 42% to 162,117 units, driven by a 54% surge in light- and medium-duty trucks to 131,813 units.

The truck market this year has been supported by government plans to procure vehicles to support the development of rural cooperatives and improve local logistics networks nationwide.

Sales of BEVs almost doubled to 103,300 units year-to-date, up from 53,100 units in the same period a year earlier, driven by Chinese brands and supported by government tax incentives.

GDP growth moderated to 5.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, down from a peak of 5.6% in the first quarter, underpinned mainly by strong government spending and investment. Private consumption growth slowed to 5.1% from 5.5%, after the central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 5.75% in the second quarter to support the rupiah and rein in rising inflation. Government spending grew by 16%, down from a peak of 22%, driven by social programmes and rising fuel subsidy costs.

Toyota continued to lead the overall vehicle market in the first eight months of the year, with sales rising by 9% to 175,931 units, while Daihatsu sales increased by 19% to 100,884 units after falling sharply last year. Suzuki's sales increased by over 22% to 47,908 units, helped by the release of new models over the last year, while Mitsubishi Motors reported a 2% sales increase to 43,753 units. BYD moved into fifth place after its sales jumped by 98% to 37,696 units, ahead of Honda, which reported a 37% plunge to 26,437 units.

Mitsubishi-Fuso also reported strong gains, with sales surging by over 76% to 27,386 units, with the company being one of the main beneficiaries of the government's rural logistics programme.

Overall vehicle production in the country rose by 13% to 859,256 units in the first eight months of the year, while exports of fully assembled vehicles rose slightly to 337,372 units.

GlobalData is forecasting Indonesia light vehicle sales to rise by 3% to 770,000 units in 2026, from 750,000 units in 2025, with volumes expected to decline slightly to 765,000 units in 2027.

"Indonesian vehicle sales surge 32% in August" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.