T5 Assembly Begins In Indonesia

HANNOVER / JAKARTA – Jan 31, 2012: By 2015, around 1,200 Transporters and Multivans are planned to roll off the assembly line in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. As of now, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is starting SKD assembly of the T5 in Indonesia for the local market, together with the importer Garuda Mataram Motor.

Indomobil/Garuda Mataram Motor has been cooperating with Volkswagen and Audi for several years already. “We are very pleased that this successful and trusted partner is now also assembling our models for this growth-oriented market,” says Jens Ocksen, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles for Production. “This ensures the product quality which Volkswagen customers are accustomed to, and which they expect from a premium product like the T5.” It is initially planned to assemble around 220 T5s in 2012. In February the first vehicles will be delivered.

Garuda Mataram Motor is also responsible for sales activities. The vehicles will be sold via six special Volkswagen passenger car dealers in Indonesia. Additionally the T5s will be presented to potential customers such as public authorities, banks, insurance companies and branch offices of European enterprises. The T5 will also be on display at the Indonesia Motor Show.

“We are exploiting the chances open to our vehicles in this growth-oriented market. The Multivan will be offered as a premium limousine, the Transporter as a reliable commercial vehicle,” stresses Harald Schomburg, Member of the Brand Board of Management of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles for Sales and Marketing. “SKD-production will open the door and enable us to gain shares of the market. We view our competitive prospects very positively.”

The acronym SKD stands for “Semi Knocked Down” and denotes vehicles which are partially disassembled. In the case of the T5 for the Indonesian market, this means that Transporters and Multivans are taken by truck from the main plant in Hanover to the CKD/SKD Centre in Bissendorf / Wedemark, about 16 km away. There, they are partially disassembled. The SKD kits are then transported as freight via Hamburg to Jakarta. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ partner on the ground, Indomobil/Garuda Mataram Motor, then imports and pays duty on the Transporter and Multivan kits before reassembling them on site.