Jakarta—Indonesia rolled out the red carpet for the 24th staging of the Gaikindo International Autoshow (GIIAS), held recently at the massive Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in BSD City, Jakarta. This year’s theme was “Green Technology for a Better Future”, which aims to encourage and embrace “green” environment friendly motoring, with automotive manufacturers highlighting eco-friendly models.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla expressed his hopes for the advancement of the Indonesian automotive industry during the VP’s Opening remarks, “By presenting an internationally scaled automotive event like the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, we are showing the World that Indonesia indeed has a strong automotive industry, and the potential to keep growing, “
This year’s Gilas featured 361 exhibitor stands from the Indonesian automotive industry, including 31 vehicles brands from authorized brand holders (APMs), consisting of 25 passenger car brands such as Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Datsun, Daihatsu, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Jeep, KIA, Land Rover, Lexus Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan, Suzuki, Tata Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Wuling and 6 commercial vehicle brands including FAW, Hino, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso, Tata Motors and UD Trucks.
Crowd drawers were display booths of the the big guns in the automotive industry such as Toyota, Mitsubishi and Nissan, Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz. There were cars on display which hopefully will make it on our local shores. Toyota highlighted the Sienta, a seven seater MPV and their bet to counter the brisk sales of the Honda Mobilio. Honda on the other hand had on display the new Brio and its CRZ Super GT 300 race car. Powerhouse Mitsubushi had their Montero SUV on center stage with concept cars such as the XM MPV Concept sharing the limelight. Lexus drew attention with their Lexus RCF-GT3 concept race car. Another variant which I think will make a difference in the local market is the Suzuki Ignis, a sub-compact off-roader and the Hyundai i20 hatchback CRDi.
About GAIKINDO and GIIAS
Established in 1969, The Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) is a non-profit organization. All Gaikindo members are companies of brand-holder agents (APM) that comprise producers, distributors, and manufacturers. Domestically, Gaikindo facilitates its members’ interests in relation to the Government’s policies regarding the automotive industry. In its global role, Gaikindo is a partner of the automotive industry associations in various countries, mainly where the automotive industry has become a backbone of the economy, and in particular, with the principal countries whose products enter the Indonesian automotive market.
