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Bajaj Auto, the second Indian motorcycle manufacturer to have
entered Indonesia, officially launched its Pulsar sporty-look
motorcycle in Jakarta on Thursday, marking the company's debut in the
country's growing motorcycle market.
With the launch of the new motorcycle, which has an engine capacity of
180 cc, the Indian company will be competing head to head with
established manufacturers, such as Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, which have
also begun to boost the sales of their sporty-look models.
Bajaj Auto Indonesia marketing sales director Dharmesh Banerjee said
the company, which would focus on the sporty-look market segment, was
quite upbeat it would be able to make inroads despite the tight
competition.
"The growth of this motorcycle segment in Indonesia has been steady
over the last few years. There is still a major opportunity for this
segment to expand," he said.
According to data from Indonesian Motorcycle Association (AISI), sales
of sporty motorcycles rose to 300,000 units in 2005, accounting for
about 5.9 percent of total motorcycle sales, from 25,000 units, or
about 7 percent of total motorcycle sales, in 2004.
The sporty motorcycle segment in Indonesia has traditionally been
dominated by Honda, with its number-one product, the Mega Pro,
controlling about 30 percent of the market. Other players include
Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki, with most of their motorcycles priced
between Rp 18 million (US$2,000) and Rp 20 million.
The company's president director, K.S. Grihapathy, said the newly
launched Pulsar DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark Ignition) has two variants,
Cast Wheel and Spoke Wheel, which are priced at between Rp 15 million
and Rp 16.5 million.
To ensure customer satisfaction, he added, the company would build 50
service centers across Java by the end of the year, with main dealers
being located in Jakarta and Surabaya.
"This year, we will concentrate on Java, while next year we will focus
on areas outside Java, with the first target being Medan (North
Sumatra)," he said, adding that the reason for this was because Java
accounted for 60 percent of motorcycle sales in Indonesia.
At the launching, the company also revealed a plan to build a factory
in Indonesia with an investment of about US$50 million. The plant would
have a capacity of 100,000 bikes a year.
"As Indonesia is the largest market for motorcycles within the
Southeast Asian region, we plan to make Indonesia Bajaj's central
manufacturing hub for the Southeast Asian market. We hope to supply our
products from Indonesia to the rest of the Southeast Asian region,"
said Bajaj executive director Sanjiv Bajaj, who is also responsible for
the company's international operations.
Bajaj is the second Indian motorcycle company to have come to Indonesia
after its competitor, TVS, which is currently building a US$45 million
factory in Karawang, near Jakarta.
The number of motorcycles sold in Indonesia reached 3.1 million in the
first nine months of this year, with Honda holding a 51 percent market
share, followed by Yamaha (32 percent), Suzuki (12 percent), and others
(5 percent). In 2005, total sales reached 5.07 million units.
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