General Motors (IW 500/5), the largest U.S. automaker, said Thursday that it would stop manufacturing in Indonesia this year, but would continue selling its Chevrolet brand in the country through its dealerships.
Production at the Bekasi plant near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta will be shut down by the end of June, resulting in the loss of about 500 jobs, the company said.
The plant currently produces the Chevrolet Spin, a small family van, for Indonesia and other ASEAN markets.
"Several factors contributed to GM's decision, including high material costs and reduced potential to utilize the local supplier base due to limited scale," said the company, which has been importing parts to assemble the Spin.
GM sold 8,500 Spins in the Indonesian market in 2014. The Bekasi plant's capacity is 40,000 vehicles.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015
