JAKARTA, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian automotive association has ratcheted up car sales target for this year, although local currency rupiah has been depreciating against the greenback, top official of the association said on Tuesday.

Chairman of the association Johannes Nangoi said the association has raised the sales expectation to 1.1 million units this year from 1.079 million units sold last year.

Nangoi believed that the target will be met on the ground that the amount of sales recorded in the first half of this year has reached 555,000 units.

"We perceive this as a positive thing. And if we could double it, that will come to 1.1 million," he said.

Car sales is one of the gauges for measuring the level of purchasing power for middle and high income groups in the country.

Looking at months to come, rupiah is looked to be more stable as the country's central bank has pledged to guard it from downside risks.

Despite the aggressive tightening policies applied by the central bank, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the economic growth would remain modest at 5.2 percent this year, higher than that of 5.07 percent last year.