Citroëns had been sold in Indonesia since the 1930s. It
is not clear whether these cars were supplied by the British factory in Slough or
the Belgian factory in Vorst/Forest.
However, it was not until 1975 when PT Alun started building the GS and later
the GSA that
the company had an official presence in the country.
The GS was built in Indonesia by PT Alun, with production starting in
1975 and lasting until at least 1994 whereas in Europe, production of
the GSA ceased in 1986 - almost four years after the launch of the BX.
There is very little information available about Indonesian cars.
However, the following models were built:
FAF in 1979 and 1980
GS - 1975 until 1994 (berline and break in both
Club and Pallas trim)
GS Cottage 1984 - 1985
GS Chic 1986 - 1987
GS Van
GSpécial 1989 -
1991 which, despite its name, was actually a GSA.
Since
Indonesia drives on the left, the British dashboard with round
instruments was fitted although the G Spécial (being a genuine GSA) had
the ‘satellites’ dashboard which was subsequently fitted to GSs too.
The
model range in Indonesia is different from the European
models. As mentioned above the GS Cottage and Chic were actually
GSs and not GSAs although they were fitted with the revised GSA front
end. Most of the Indonesian cars were fitted with four round
headlamps. Mechanically, they were the same as European cars but air
conditioning was available as option.Between 1975 and 1987, around 2800
vehicles were built - not a huge number for a thirteen year run.
The number of true GSAs is estimated to be 300.
The number of GSs produced from 1988 to 1994 is estimated to
be around 400.
As Marc Stabèl, author of the definitive
book on the GS
says, “The information about the GSs built in Indonesia is quite
confusing. There is great uncertainty about the numbers built and the
time span. The Citroën Club Indonesia suggests that GSs were built from
1974 to 1990 by the company PT Alun. However, another source claims
that the production at Alun only started in 1979. It is also claimed
that the GS Van continued in production until 2004 but not by Alun.
Where that happened and by whom, is not known.”
PT Alun itself creates even more confusion since they state that they
built Citroëns from 1975 to 1994.
The company also sold the CX although it is not clear whether these
were imported or assembled from CKD kits.
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