Chinese Brands Win Over Young Indonesians as American Rivals Face Boycotts

China's Consumer Appeal Reaches Beyond Low Prices

Chinese car sales in Indonesia rose 153 percent in the first quarter of 2025 while the wider automotive market shrank by nearly 5 percent. Their share of total sales climbed from 3.83 percent to 10 percent within a year. Across shopping malls, restaurants and social media, a similar shift is drawing young Indonesians toward Chinese brands, just as American companies face consumer boycotts over the war in Gaza.

Kavin Hibrizy Pradipto Eska, a university student aged 20, traveled hours from his campus to a motor show in northern Jakarta to see Chinese cars. He hopes to buy a Chery Tiggo hybrid when he starts earning an income. The car costs roughly half as much as comparable foreign alternatives, and he describes its design as "cute." Speaking about his enthusiasm for China, Kavin said:

China is just, like, the future for me,

Kavin once associated Chinese products with poor quality. His change of mind captures a wider shift in the world's fourth most populous nation, where the median age is approximately 28 to 30. Young consumers who have grown up with digital technology and watch their spending closely are finding Chinese products attractive for their prices, features and presentation.

Jakarta's congested roads now carry increasing numbers of compact Chinese electric vehicles. Consumers queue at Mixue tea shops, gather around hot pots at Haidilao, buy Skintific cosmetics in pharmacies and carry Xiaomi and Oppo smartphones. Five years earlier, American fast food chains and Japanese carmakers dominated this consumer landscape without serious challengers. Chinese businesses are now competing across several parts of daily life at once.

Electric Cars Open the Door to a Larger Market

Chinese manufacturers account for approximately 90 percent of Indonesia's battery electric vehicle market. These vehicles run entirely on electricity stored in batteries, making access to charging central to their everyday use. Figures from the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association show that Chinese brands expanded rapidly even as total car sales fell in the first quarter of 2025.

BYD, based in Shenzhen, captured 29.7 percent of battery electric vehicle sales through the second quarter of 2025, close behind SAIC at 31.6 percent. Together, those shares amounted to 61.3 percent of the segment. The figures show the strength of Chinese manufacturers in electric cars, while their 10 percent share of the total automotive market shows how much larger the wider market remains.

The company's Denza 9 luxury minivan sold 2,524 units in its initial months and acquired the nickname "Alphard killer" for challenging Toyota in the luxury multipurpose vehicle category. Chery, Geely, Wuling, Neta and Jaecoo have also established substantial presences, often using local production facilities to qualify for government incentives.

Indonesia's policy support has helped this expansion. Tax incentives reduce value added duties on electric vehicles to just 2 percent, compared with 40 percent for vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. BYD has made investment commitments totaling $1.3 billion, while Chery's local production initiatives in Bekasi show how sales growth is being tied to manufacturing inside Indonesia.

Kavin's interest in a hybrid illustrates another part of this appeal. A hybrid combines an engine with electric propulsion, while the battery electric sales figures describe vehicles powered entirely by batteries. Chinese manufacturers are attracting attention across these different vehicle choices through prices, styling and new technology.

Everyday Experience Changes Old Quality Judgments

Eski Badillah, a remedial loan officer aged 35 who repossesses motorcycles from borrowers who fall behind on payments, remembers when Chinese vehicles were objects of ridicule. Sitting outside a Mixue outlet in a residential Jakarta neighborhood, he described attitudes from two decades earlier:

Before, like 20 years ago, people would say: 'Oh, what is this? It is made in China.' We probably would laugh at it, the idea of a car or motorcycle from China,

Eski's work has brought him into contact with Chinese electric motorcycles. That experience has changed his assessment of the products and their makers. Describing the shift, he said:

These days, that has changed. The image of Chinese brands has become more positive.

Dwi Soejatmoko, an Indonesian entrepreneur aged 42, offers another example of how experience can reshape expectations. He bought a Changhong television two decades ago because it was affordable. The television still works, having lasted longer than he initially expected.

Chinese products were long associated with inexpensive mass production. Experiences such as Dwi's have gradually weakened that reputation, while newer products present China as a source of technology and innovation. In Indonesia, consumers are increasingly judging Chinese brands by what the products do, rather than simply where they were made.

Bramantya Adji Pratama, a bank officer aged 27, praised Chinese automotive engineering while dining at Haidilao, saying Chinese cars offer the most innovative features. His interest reflects the move beyond price alone: consumers are also paying attention to equipment, design and the experience of using a product.

Tea Shops and Restaurants Build Familiarity

Mixue Bingcheng operates more than 2,600 outlets across Indonesia, its largest overseas presence. The Chinese ice cream and tea chain has become a familiar destination, placing Chinese branding in neighborhoods as well as major commercial centers.

Cotti Coffee, Shuyi Grass Jelly and Chagee have also established substantial networks. These beverage businesses frequently adapt their supply chains to Indonesia, buying or handling supplies locally to control costs while maintaining food safety standards. Their expansion brings competition into a category where customers can try a new brand without making the financial commitment required for a car or major appliance.

Indonesia's Muslim majority also shapes how these businesses operate. Following initial controversies over ingredients, adapting to the market has included obtaining halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council. Halal certification addresses whether products meet Islamic requirements, making it a practical concern for many customers deciding where to eat and drink.

Haidilao competes through service as well as food. Across twelve Indonesian locations, the hot pot chain offers theatrical noodle pulling performances and complimentary massages and manicures to customers waiting for tables. Chinese commercial expansion is therefore reaching beyond factories and retail shelves into the way restaurants entertain and serve their customers.

Livestream Shopping Turns Attention Into Sales

Indonesia has become one of the largest global markets for TikTok's livestream shopping function. Beauty brands such as Skintific use demonstrations lasting hours to show products, answer questions and offer discounts while viewers watch. The format brings product discovery, explanation and purchasing into the same digital setting.

Lutfiah, a consumer aged 29, discovered Skintific through social media influencers. Her experience shows how a purchase can also affect someone's view of the country associated with a brand. Explaining that change, she said:

How I see China and Chinese people has changed because of some of the products I use,

Chinese cultural programming has also gained ground. Tauhid Ahmad, an economist at the Institute for Development Economics and Finance in Jakarta, says programming from China has recently overtaken the position that South Korean pop music and drama held among Indonesian youth a decade ago.

Tauhid links young consumers' favorable views to their limited awareness of earlier tensions between Indonesia and China, including anti-Chinese riots in previous decades. Describing how younger Indonesians see China, he said:

They do not know about the past. They believe that China is good because it is a rich country and they have good technology.

Products, entertainment and social media are working together in this change of perception. A consumer may encounter a cosmetic brand through an influencer, watch Chinese programming and then see videos of Chinese infrastructure. Each encounter makes China more familiar through everyday experiences rather than through memories of past conflict.

Boycotts Put American Brands Under Pressure

McDonald's, Starbucks and Kentucky Fried Chicken have faced boycott campaigns spread widely through social media. Muslim consumers have targeted the brands to protest United States support for Israel's military actions in Gaza. The campaigns have eased in intensity since the conflict escalated in 2023, but many consumers continue avoiding the companies as an expression of solidarity with Palestinians.

Chinese businesses have gained commercial opportunities as some customers seek alternatives. Arina Shafiqah, a student who visits Chinese tea outlets such as Chagee, connected her avoidance of McDonald's and Starbucks to Palestinian solidarity. Explaining why she was comfortable buying from Chinese businesses, she said:

I have no issue with Chinese outlets or brands. It is nothing to do with the country but rather the quality of goods,

Arina's position brings together two reasons for the consumer shift. Political concerns can determine which brands a shopper avoids, while quality and value can determine where that shopper spends instead. Many young Indonesians regard Chinese businesses as politically neutral alternatives to Western brands associated with controversial foreign policies.

Chinese brands are benefiting from this opening while also attracting customers through affordable prices, technology and service. Kavin's interest in a Chery hybrid, Dwi's experience with a durable television and Arina's choice of tea outlets show that the change involves several different buying decisions, rather than a single motivation shared by every consumer.

Glodok Gains a New Generation of Visitors

Glodok, Jakarta's Chinatown district, was historically associated with wholesale trade in inexpensive goods. It now attracts young Indonesians looking for distinctive coffee shops and food stalls among restored heritage buildings. The neighborhood gives the wider change in attitudes a local setting, connecting consumer interest with places already woven into Jakarta's history.

Restu Ramadhani Putri, a visitor aged 24, discovered the neighborhood through TikTok videos showcasing infrastructure projects in China, including extensive highway networks and high speed rail systems. Describing how the reaction to Chinese products has changed, she said:

In the past, if we bought something from China, we would say, 'Ugh, it is from China.' Now it is like, 'Wow, China is really cool.'

Restu's experience connects China's technological image with interest in a Jakarta neighborhood. Videos of transport infrastructure and visits to local food businesses become part of the same broader change in familiarity. Chinese influence is appearing through consumer goods, digital entertainment and renewed interest in places associated with Chinese heritage.

Investment Connects Consumer Growth With Resources

China is Indonesia's largest investor and the main buyer of critical natural resources, including nickel used in electric vehicle batteries. Indonesian nickel ore is processed for export to Chinese manufacturing facilities, while recent investments seek to expand processing within Indonesia.

Domestic downstream processing means turning a raw resource into a more valuable product before it leaves the country. For Indonesia, this matters because selling processed materials or manufactured goods can create work beyond extraction. The growth of Chinese car brands therefore sits alongside a deeper industrial relationship involving the materials that help power their vehicles.

Chinese companies have also committed $100 million to coconut processing facilities across several Indonesian cities. The investment responds to growing demand in China for ingredients made from coconuts, including those used in beverages. Luckin Coffee has an exclusive partnership with the government of Banggai Kepulauan regency to secure supplies.

Coconut processing offers another route from exporting raw commodities toward manufacturing products with greater value. Such arrangements create employment opportunities, while also prompting concern about whether Indonesia will remain primarily a supplier of raw materials or develop a larger role in advanced manufacturing.

Local manufacturers face a more immediate concern: Chinese retail franchises can sell at prices that domestic competitors struggle to match. Pressure on the textile industry has prompted the government to announce potential import duties of 200 percent on Chinese textile products. Automotive exporters and businesses in other sectors have expressed anxiety about possible retaliation or changes in trade policy. The proposed duties remain a potential measure, with no implementation date given.

Charging, Durability and Waste Remain Practical Tests

Indonesia had only 1,380 charging stations as of April 2024, including 656 on Java. The uneven distribution leaves large parts of the archipelago with limited access. For someone considering an electric car, the question of where to recharge can be as important as the purchase price or the features inside the vehicle.

Survey figures show that 71.2 percent of Indonesian consumers consider public charging stations difficult to find. Another 62 percent of potential buyers express concern about high maintenance costs and limited driving ranges. Those concerns persist despite improving battery technology, showing the work manufacturers face in explaining ownership costs and everyday use.

Nickel extraction brings environmental and labor concerns. It has proceeded without standardized environmental and labor regulations, creating sustainability issues that could eventually affect how consumers view the brands connected to it. Indonesia also lacks clear rules for processing battery waste, leaving a future environmental challenge as early generations of electric vehicles reach the end of their usable lives.

Battery and drivetrain technology is heavily sourced from China. A drivetrain is the system that transfers power to move a vehicle. This concentration creates exposure to interruptions in trade if geopolitical tensions disrupt supplies, tying the reliability of Indonesia's growing electric vehicle market to the wider economic relationship.

Jongkie Sugiarto, co-chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Association, says Japanese manufacturers retain trust earned over decades. Discussing the competition, he said:

Chinese brands will not overtake the dominance of Japanese ones soon, as Japanese ones have proven to be reliable and solid. Chinese manufacturers need to work on establishing comparable durability reputations.

Chinese manufacturers have won attention through rapid sales growth, competitive prices and new features. Maintaining that appeal will require dependable performance over years of ownership, alongside charging access and arrangements for handling batteries after their useful life.

How the Shift Developed

Indonesia's changing consumer market brings together developments unfolding at different times. Boycotts gained momentum after the escalation in Gaza, charging infrastructure figures exposed gaps in electric vehicle support, and subsequent car sales figures showed Chinese manufacturers gaining market share.

• 2023: The escalation of the Gaza conflict helped drive boycott campaigns against American brands over United States support for Israel.
• April 2024: Indonesia had 1,380 charging stations, with 656 concentrated on Java.
• First quarter of 2025: Chinese car sales rose 153 percent from a year earlier, while the total market contracted by nearly 5 percent. Chinese brands' market share reached 10 percent, up from 3.83 percent.
• Through the second quarter of 2025: BYD held 29.7 percent of battery electric vehicle sales, while SAIC held 31.6 percent.

Young Indonesians are encountering Chinese businesses across transport, food, beauty and entertainment. The scale of that presence makes the consumer shift broader than the success of any one product. Its continued growth is tied to the same practical demands shoppers place on other brands: acceptable prices, dependable quality and services that fit daily life.

What to Know

• Chinese car sales grew 153 percent in the first quarter of 2025, lifting their total market share from 3.83 percent to 10 percent.
• Chinese manufacturers account for approximately 90 percent of Indonesia's battery electric vehicle market.
• Mixue operates more than 2,600 Indonesian outlets, while Haidilao has twelve locations.
• Boycotts linked to Gaza have pushed some consumers away from American brands and toward Chinese alternatives.
• TikTok shopping, Chinese programming and everyday product experiences are changing young consumers' views of China.
• Chinese investment connects Indonesia's consumer market with nickel processing, vehicle production and $100 million in coconut processing commitments.
• Charging access, lasting reliability, environmental safeguards and pressure on local manufacturers remain major challenges.