Tata Motors Ltd. has made it clear that they will make Indonesia an export hub for their vehicles to the rest of Southeast Asia. Indonesia is set to surpass its neighbor, Thailand, as the region's largest car market.
Chief Executive Officer of Tata Motor's Indonesian unit, Biswadev Sengupta, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Indonesia that they expect to sell vehicles in the country sufficient enough to make a local Indonesian assembly plant possible. Tata plans to start sales in Indonesia in two months.
The expected care sale volume should also aid the content of locally made components to 40%. This is an important requirement that allows the company to sell to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at zero duty.
Tata Motors, India's largest automaker, is entering Indonesia as it is poised to become Southeast Asia's biggest car market by 2014, according to a report by IHS Automotive. Most of the region's half a billion population will be middle class by 2020 and that should only enhance consumer demand.
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