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The local arms of Japanese carmakers Toyota Motor Company and
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. have produced another pair of jointly produced
models in their second collaborative venture after PT Astra Daihatsu
Motor and PT Toyota-Astra Motor introduced the Daihatsu Xenia and
Toyota Avanza in 2003.
While the Xenia and Avanza are multipurpose vehicles (MPV), this time
around the two companies have produced a sports utility vehicle (SUV),
called respectively the Daihatsu Terios and Toyota Rush. The vehicles
are assembled at PT ADM's Indonesian plant, as are the Xenia and Avanza
models.
The collaborative venture between the companies is intended to make
maximum use of each company's strengths. Toyota is known for its
extensive marketing network and quality control, while Daihatsu is
known to be a leading compact carmaker.
Toyota Motor Company has a 51 percent stake in Daihatsu Co. Ltd. The
two companies have made Indonesia the center of production for the
Xenia/Avanza and Terios/Rush, serving both the domestic and export
markets.
PT TAM launched the five-seater Rush on Wednesday, while PT ADM is
slated to launch its seven-seater Terios on Thursday.
"For a start, we will be targeting a sales volume of 1,000 units per
month ... If market conditions improve, maybe we can increase this to
1,500 or 2,000," PT TAM president director Johnny Darmawan said.
For Daihatsu, the Terios will replace its earlier Taruna model,
although it will continue to be known as the Taruna on the
international market. In Malaysia, the Taruna is known as Perodua
Kembara.
For Toyota, however, this is a new market segment, although the Rush
has a slightly larger RAV4 powered by a 2.4 liter engine.
The Toyota Rush 1.5G with manual transmission is priced at Rp 155
million, the manual Rush 1.5S tagged at Rp 165 million and the Rush
1.5S with automatic transmission at Rp 179 million. The model comes in
five color options; silver mica metallic, black mica, red mica,
champagne mica metallic and blue metallic.
Meanwhile, the Daihatsu Terios is priced in a range of between Rp 120
million and Rp 160 million. It comes in two main variants -- the Terios
TX, with a 5-speed manual transmission, and the Terios TS with options
for a 4-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmissions.
Buyers have a choice of three color options -- classic silver, exotic
beige and midnight black. Meanwhile, those opting for the TS variant
have the additional options of sparkling blue or wine red.
The launches of the Terios and Rush are expected to further strengthen
Indonesia's position in the global car market, in which production is
not only aimed at the domestic market, but also for export.
On Monday, PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) announced
that it would export the automaker's latest model, the
Fortuner, to the Middle East and expand the export volumes and
destinations of its Avanza model in 2007.
The Fortuner is currently only assembled in Thailand, and is in the
same class as the Kijang Innova, which is assembled here.
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