Indonesia April car sales up 46 pct - Toyota

JAKARTA, May 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia's vehicle sales are likely to have risen by 46 percent in April to 51,500 units from a year ago as interest rates fell, an industry official said on Friday.

Jodjana Jody, head of sales at Toyota Astra Motor, told Reuters that Toyota (7203.T) sold 17,890 units last month, up 47.6 percent from the same month in 2007. Total sales of all makers could be the highest since March 2005.

Toyota Astra Motor, owned by PT Astra International Tbk (ASII.JK), the largest automotive distributor in the country, is the distributor of Toyota cars in Indonesia.

The Indonesian automotive sector is recovering from a slowdown in 2006 following a government decision to increase domestic fuel prices sharply in October 2005.

Sales in the first quarter of 2008 rose 61 percent, helped by lower interest rates and despite the country's consumer confidence being dented by building inflation.

Indonesians have also been snapping up cars in anticipation of a hike in interest rates and an increase in prices, industry officials have said.

Indonesia has gradually lowered its benchmark interest rate, known as the BI rate BIPG, to 8 percent in January from 12.75 percent in early 2006. Most vehicle purchases in Indonesia are financed by loans, making sales sensitive to interest rates.

Analysts and industry experts have said they expect vehicle sales this year to reach between 500,000-550,000 units, compared to 434,449 units in 2007.

Despite the strong sales data in the first quarter, industry officials said they would not revise up forecasts for the full year due to uncertainties about rising inflation and the possibility the government might hike domestic fuel prices to contain ballooning subsidies. (Reporting by Harry Suhartono, editing by Sugita Katyal and Louise Heavens)