Indonesia February 2018: Mitsubishi Xpander snaps historic pole position

The Mitsubishi Xpander is the first non-Toyota to top Indonesian charts in potentially four decades.

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New car wholesales in Indonesia drop 1.5% year-on-year in February to 93.737 units, yet the year-to-date volume remains in positive thanks to a 11.3% surge in January, adding up to 189.712 after two months, up 4.6% on the same period a year ago. Brand leader Toyota sinks 23.5% year-on-year to just 29.5% share, an improvement on the 26.5% it held in January but down significantly on the 34.4% of the FY2017. In 2nd place, Mitsubishi more than doubles its sales year-on-year (+103%) to reach a world-best 19.6% share. The reason behind this stunning result: the Mitsubishi XPander becoming the best-selling vehicle in Indonesia outright this month (7.9% share) and year-to-date (7.6%) after just 5 months of sales in the country. The Toyota Avanza is outsold for the first time since the Calya took the lead from August to October 2016. But more significantly, the XPander is the first non-Toyota to top the monthly Indonesian charts potentially since the early 1980s when Toyota was still establishing a presence in the country. At the very least, it is the first time a Toyota model does not place #1 since BSCB started tracking Indonesia monthly back in 2005.

New local producer Wuling is up to a best-ever 9th place in February.

As a result of Mitsubishi’s historic performance, Daihatsu is relegated to #3 with 16.7% while Honda posts another weak month at just 12.7% in 4th place. Suzuki is the last carmaker managing more than 10% share at 11.9%, ahead of Hino (2.9%), Isuzu (1.9%) and Nissan (1.2%). Local producer since last July, Chinese carmaker Wuling edges up one spot to a best-ever 9th place overall, overtaking Datsun and posting its first ever four-digit monthly result in Indonesia. Among other news in the models ranking, the Toyota Kijang Innova, Calya, Suzuki Ertiga and Daihatsu Sigra make the Top 6 100% MPV, with the best-selling passenger car and the only one in the Top 10 being the Honda Brio Satya at #7. The Toyota Rush cements its #1 SUV spot thanks to the new generation, while the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport gains 5 ranks on January to #14.

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Previous month: Indonesia January 2018: Mitsubishi XPander only 464 sales below Avanza

Previous year: Indonesia Full Year 2017: Toyota Avanza, Calya and Kijang Innova on top

Full February 2018 Top 10 brands and Top 20 models below.