Indonesia car sales in 2010 up 57 pct, exceed forecasts

JAKARTA Jan 12 (Reuters) - Indonesia's domestic car sales reached a record 764,088 units last year, up 57 percent from 2009 and above forecasts for 720,000 units, reflecting booming local consumer demand, industry association data showed on Wednesday.

Total car sales, an indicator of domestic demand in a country that does not give retail sales data, were 70,061 units in December, up 46 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the Indonesian Automotive Association (Gaikindo).

Domestic car sales are led by Toyota , Daihatsu , Mitsubishi , Suzuki and Honda .

Gaikindo forecasts car sales in 2011 to rise just 4 percent following government plans to cut the use of subsidised fuel for private cars this year. The plan will be rolled out starting in the Jakarta region by the second quarter. [ID:nL3E6NE0C5]

Astra International , Indonesia's largest auto distributor, said domestic car sales were expected to grow 5-10 percent in 2011. [ID:nJKB004197] (Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)