February 12, 2009 

Indonesia’s Automotive Industry Confronts Global Economic Downturn

Bahasa Indonesia

Jakarta, February 12 – Experts at a panel on the future of Indonesia’s automotive industry said today that as the global economy struggles to find its footing, now is the time for Indonesia’s automotive and components industry to position itself to gain competitive advantage for future growth. One way to do this is to promote product and process standardization within Indonesia’s automotive sector and develop evaluation and certification systems, according to participants of “Indonesian Auto Parts Industry and the Global Economic Crisis: Strategies and Perspectives”. This will help companies become more competitive and give them access to international markets.

“The automotive components industry can only survive the current global economic crisis and become more profitable if it becomes more competitive,” explained Walter North, mission director for the United States Agency for International Development.

The panel discussion, sponsored by USAID’s SENADA project in collaboration with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International and various Indonesian automotive and motorcycle associations, focused on how to weather the current economic storm and prepare new strategies to resume growth. One proposed way would be to develop a national seal of quality that would lead to industry standardization.

QSEAL is a quality certification seal, nationally recognized in the Indonesian spare parts market, for non-original automotive components that comply with standards set by the automotive industry. QSEAL was initiated by three major Indonesian automotive industry associations: the Indonesian Automotive Center (SOI), the Indonesian Automotive Engineers Association (IATO), and the Indonesian Service Station Association (ASBEKINDO).

Over the next two weeks, SENADA and SOI will sponsor a series of QSEAL Professional Development Courses conducted by SAE International. This is the first time that SAE’s internationally recognized training is being offered in Indonesia. The four courses scheduled are Managing Integrated Product Development; Design Reviews for Effective Product Development; Quality Function Deployment; and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis.

Ir. Hasiholan Sidabutar, chairman of both the Indonesian Automotive Engineers Association and the Indonesian Automotive Part and Components Industry Association Supervisory Board, explained, “We expect the SAE program to support and create opportunity for Indonesian automotive experts as they strive to maximize competitiveness in the industry.”

SAE International is a global resource for standards development, events, and technical information and expertise used in designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for use on land or sea, in air or space. It has more than 90,000 members - engineers, business executives, educators, and students from more than 97 countries - who share information and exchange ideas for advancing the engineering of mobility systems.

For information, please contact Widodo Hardjono (widodo_hardjono@dai.com) or Harun Wiranto (harun_wiranto@dai.com) at USAID/SENADA (021- 5793- 2577).

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