Astra Daihatsu invests RM482m for Rocky, Toyota Raize production in Indonesia

The Daihatsu Rocky and Toyota Raize, sister cars to our Perodua Ativa, were launched in Indonesia last week. As is usually the case with compact car twins sold with Daihatsu and Toyota badges in the republic, the Rocky and Raize are produced by Astra Daihatsu Motor (ADM). In Japan, the compact car expert owned by Toyota also makes both models.

According to Autonetmagz, ADM invested 1.7 trillion rupiah (RM482.3 million) for the production of the Rocky, which is the first Daihatsu model in the country use the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) platform. A new platform needs new tooling, and they had to factor that in for the Karawang, West Java factory that also rolls out LCGC budget models like the Ayla and Sigra.

Production started in end-April, and the first units are being delivered to dealerships across the country now, to serve as showroom display and demo cars. At present, they’re only making the 1.0L turbo variants; the 86 PS/105 Nm 1.2L naturally aspirated three-cylinder base option is for later.

The sales target ADM has set for the Rocky 1.0T is 500 units per month, which translates to 6,000 units a year. That’s very modest as Perodua has a target of 3,000 units per month, and our market is much smaller. ADM cites reasons such as the ongoing pandemic (which has dampened the economy), government stimulus in the form of luxury tax breaks (PPnBM) and production/supply issues.

However, ADM has export plans for the new SUV. Marketing director Amelia Tjandra told local media that the model will be exported to 50 countries in Toyota Raize form. Exports will start in August this year. Indonesia is the first country outside of Japan to market and produce the Toyota Raize.

Indonesia’s Daihatsu Rocky and Toyota Raize follow the look of the JDM models and both are powered by the 1KR-VET 1.0 litre turbo triple with 98 PS and 140 Nm of torque from 2,400 to 4,000 rpm, like the Ativa. Besides the D-CVT, the Indonesian market also gets a five-speed manual option, although active safety and driver assist kit (ASA) is reserved for the range toppers. The Raize gets a GR Sport flagship variant.

Rocky pricing is from 214 million rupiah (RM60,900) to 236 million rupiah (RM67,100), while the Raize goes from 219.9 million rupiah (RM62,500) to 263.7 million rupiah (RM74,930). These Indonesian prices are for the 1.0T. The better-specced Perodua Ativa sells for RM61,500 to RM72,000 in Malaysia.

GALLERY: Daihatsu Rocky, Indonesia spec