Audi Production Begins in Indonesia

With small, careful steps, German auto maker is trying to tap into emerging markets, in an attempt to increase its sales numbers and ultimately help mother company Volkswagen achieve its goal of becoming the number one producer in the world by 2018.

Today, Audi announced it hd started production of some of its models in Indonesia. Starting this week Audi A4 1.8 TFSI and A6 2.0 TFSI will be produced in Jakarta, together with local partner INDOMOBIL/Garuda Mataram Motor.

The production target set by the auto maker is not big, but is exactly the small start the manufacturer needs in the country. By 2015, Audi plans to build 2,700 cars here, of which 2,000 will be A4 models.

“After having done so in key markets like China and India, we’ve now found an outstanding partner for local assembly of our Audi models in Indonesia: INDOMOBIL/Garuda Mataram Motor,” said Frank Dreves, Audi member of the board for production.

"We’d like to contribute to this growth, since growth is an important component of Audi’s brand strategy.”

The distribution of the locally assembled cars in Indonesia will be handled by three dealers, with plans to expand the network to an undisclosed number in the years to come. Audi bets on the forecasted 15 percent growth in the country this year.

Indonesia is a new door Audi is opening to strengthen its position in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, a region where the car maker is considering itself, based on the sales figures from recent years, the fastest growing premium brand.