MOTOR magnate Karsono Kwee has added the first Japanese marque to his stable of car brands by taking on a Mazda dealership in Jakarta.

Mr Kwee, executive chairman of the Eurokars Group of Companies, already represents Porsche, Saab, Opel, Rolls-Royce and Mini in Singapore.

But the Indonesian-born entrepreneur, who has since become a Singapore citizen, also represents four brands in Jakarta - Porsche, Saab, Rolls-Royce and BMW.

Mazda appointed Mr Kwee the dealer for Southern Jakarta because of his experience with upmarket brands in Indonesia. He officially took over last Friday as one of the Japanese car maker's two dealers there, with the other located in Western Jakarta.

The president director of PT Mazda Motor Indonesia, Yoshinori Nishihara, says Eurokars is best known for its success with top Continental brands and has shown an impressive track record of building up marques like Porsche, Saab and Roll-Royce.

'Their knowledge and experience of our target market, combined with Mazda Motor Indonesia's vision and strategy for the Indonesian automotive market, make for a robust partnership,' said Mr Nishihara.

Subsidiary PT Eurokars Chrisdeco Utama will make available six passenger car models - the RX8 sports coupe, CX-7 and Tribute SUVs, Mazda5 MPV, Mazda3 hatchback and Mazda6 sedan. In addition, there is also the BT50 pickup truck.

'We are really excited to break into the Indonesian automotive market with a distinctive brand like Mazda,' said Mr Kwee. 'The Mazda brand is already making a resurgence worldwide. It is only a matter a time before it takes off in Indonesia.'

He added that Mazda has seen tremendous growth worldwide because of its strong emphasis on product portfolio, customer service and brand strategy.

'With the popularity of the mainstream Mazda3 and Mazda6 models, the impact of the RX-8 in the sports segment, and the CX-7 which we will launch later this year, we are very confident of growing this brand in Indonesia,' said Mr Kwee.

A Mazda showroom and dedicated workshop will be set up at the company's Jakarta showroom complex at Pondok Indah.