Expanding Indonesian Car Market: Chinese Market Share Surpasses 20%, Hyundai Stalls

Sales Surge by 90%
Japanese Brands Slip from the Top

In the Indonesian automotive market, Chinese companies led by BYD are rapidly disrupting the Japanese car-dominated landscape. Sales at Hyundai Motor have declined, pressured by the persistent preference for Japanese vehicles and the aggressive low pricing of Chinese brands.

On January 18, 2024 (local time), officials were inspecting the BYD Atto3 vehicle at the BYD launch event held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (GAIKINDO) on September 17, 2026, wholesale sales in the Indonesian automotive market totaled 599,491 units from January to August this year, a 20.1% increase compared to the same period last year (499,315 units).

This growth has been driven by Chinese brands. Cumulative sales of Chinese brands for the January-August period surged by 90.2%, reaching 114,268 units, up from 60,067 in the same period last year. Their market share soared from 12.0% last year to 19.1% this year, marking a 7.1 percentage point jump. In August alone, Chinese brands accounted for over 20% of the market share. Due to the strong performance of Chinese vehicles, the market share of Japanese cars, which previously approached 90%, fell to 77.3%. While Toyota (175,931 units, 29.3%) and Daihatsu (100,884 units, 16.8%) maintained their first and second places, Honda, which specializes in passenger cars, saw sales drop sharply to 26,437 units, a 37.5% decrease compared to the same period last year.

At the forefront of the Chinese car push is BYD. BYD secured fifth place overall by selling 37,696 units between January and August, closely trailing Mitsubishi Motors, which ranked fourth with 43,753 units sold. In August, BYD’s budget electric vehicle, the Atto 1, achieved first place in monthly sales for a single model, recording sales of 5,560 units. In addition, several other Chinese brands have joined the fray, such as Jaecoo—Chery Group’s premium SUV brand (8th place, 23,834 units), Geely (11th place, 12,510 units), and Wuling (13th place, 11,375 units).

On September 3, BYD completed a dedicated electric vehicle plant spanning 126 hectares in the Subang Smartpolitan Industrial Estate in West Java Province and began full-scale operations. The plant, built at a total investment of 16 trillion rupiah (about 1.4 trillion won), has an annual production capacity of 150,000 units. As BYD’s local sales continue to grow, its share is expected to rise even more aggressively, driven by expanded government incentives for local production.

While the overall market enjoyed double-digit growth, Hyundai Motor went against the trend. The company’s cumulative wholesale sales from January to August totaled 12,297 units, an 11.1% decrease from 13,828 units in the same period last year. Retail sales also dropped 15.2%, down to 12,204 units from last year’s 14,394. Hyundai’s market share ranking slipped from 9th place last year (in both wholesale and retail) to 12th this year, falling outside the “Top 10.” However, excluding Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino, which mainly sell trucks and buses, Hyundai maintained its 10th-place standing among passenger car brands.

Lee Hoguen, a professor at the Department of Future Automotive Engineering at Daedeok University, stated, “Traditionally, high-quality Japanese cars were considered the people’s car in Indonesia, but this perception is gradually eroding. If BYD ramps up local factory operations, this trend will only accelerate, and not only Japanese automakers but also domestic brands such as Hyundai may face extremely challenging conditions.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.