Hyundai’s journey within the Indonesian market resembles a Okay-Drama script, wealthy with components which have made these narratives from the automaker’s house nation resonate with audiences across the globe.
Very like a traditional Okay-Drama, Hyundai’s story includes a struggling protagonist, a sudden rise, surprising twists, and cliffhangers that set the stage for the following season. Right here we delve into Hyundai’s evolving narrative in Indonesia, exploring the twists and turns which have performed out to this point, and provides our predictions as to what surprises await us within the plot forward.
Act I: The Battle
Earlier than the pandemic, Hyundai Indonesia was a small participant, with its common annual gross sales reaching simply 1k items in 2016-19. The Staria MPV was Hyundai’s solely regionally produced mannequin, manufactured below a contract with PT Handal’s facility. Though the automaker’s position was small, its ambition to increase was robust; it was already getting ready to write down a brand new chapter and increase its presence in a rustic with the biggest inhabitants in ASEAN and the 4th largest on the planet. To attain this purpose, the corporate introduced plans to put money into its personal plant in Indonesia.
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Act II: The Rise
In 2022, Hyundai’s new plant got here on-line, beginning with the manufacturing of the Creta SUV (Q1 2022) and Stargazer MPV (Q3 2022). The automaker’s gross sales surged, rocketing from 3.16k items in 2021 to 32.0k items in 2022 and 35.5k items in 2023. As well as, the Indonesian authorities’s Battery Electrical Automobile (BEV) incentive coverage supported Hyundai in producing the IONIQ 5 BEV, enabling the corporate to achieve momentum and the boldness to compete in opposition to the Japanese manufacturers that dominated the market. On the similar time, Hyundai ended its partnership with PT Handal, seemingly prepared to face by itself two toes.
For extra context, it’s value noting that Hyundai’s new plant had an preliminary manufacturing capability of 150k items a yr, with 50% of its output supposed for export. This might due to this fact indicate that the automaker’s home gross sales goal was round 75k items a yr; a determine that was already midway achieved by the top of 2023. As such, this may be seen as Hyundai’s actual “glow-up” second.
Act III: The Plot Twist
As is the case in Okay-Dramas, the place the introduction of latest characters or unfavorable conditions typically function a plot twist, Hyundai Indonesia’s gross sales out of the blue nosedived. In 2024, its volumes fell by 37% year-on-year (YoY) to 22.4k items, earlier than struggling an additional 10% YoY decline in January-July 2025 to 12.4k items. This abrupt change in trajectory was probably because of the emergence of Chinese language manufacturers within the Indonesian market, that arrived providing each reasonably priced fashions and BEVs, amidst weak total demand within the nation. The variety of Chinese language automakers in Indonesia rose from simply 3 in 2022 to 11 in 2024, and is anticipated to proceed to develop to round 20 by the top of 2025.
