Chinese carmakers will have to rethink strategy, improve products in order to compete globally, reports Alfred Romann in Hong Kong.

More than 1 million new cars were sold in Indonesia last year. That fact alone makes the Southeast Asia giant a very desirable market for automakers.

Indonesia accounts for about 40 percent of the population of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its economy has been growing fast, at more than 4 percent a year for more than a decade. It is a natural export market for Chinese auto manufacturers looking to up their market share.