GM shuts Indonesian plant

BEIJING: General Motors (GM) is to stop making cars in Indonesia, a battleground for global automakers in emerging South-East Asia, closing an assembly plant, axing some 500 jobs and shifting its branding focus to sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).

The US auto giant, which was the first to set up a car assembly plant in South-East Asia’s biggest economy eight decades ago, is effectively calling time on its attempt to wrestle market share from dominant Japanese rivals, led by Toyota Motor.