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Japan-based motorcycle producer PT Yamaha Motor Kencana
Indonesia (YMKI) expects to capture at least 20 percent of the
country's growing sporty motorcycle market, the company's senior
executive says.
"The sporty motorcycle market is growing but competition is also quite
fierce," the company's president director Yoshiteru Takahashi said
Saturday during a test drive of the company's new sport motorcycle the
Yamaha V-Ixion.
He said sporty motorcycles accounted for between 8 and 9 percent of the
country's total motorcycle sales, which was projected to reach 5.2
million units this year.
He acknowledged that sporty motorcycles were less popular here than the
more dominant bebek motorbike, as users were mostly commuters who ride
their motorbikes to work.
However, he added, there is a portion of consumers who like sporty
motorcycles, which are equipped with a larger engine and more
sophisticated technology.
Yamaha Indonesia plans to market its 150cc Yamaha V-Ixion, which is
equipped with a fuel injection system, in May this year. The new
motorcycle will also be exported to Vietnam, India, Malaysia and
Thailand.
"We set a target of selling 5,000 units per month in Indonesia,"
Yoshiteru said, adding that with the new release he was upbeat the
company could grab a bigger share of the nation's motorcycle market
this year.
V-Ixion, which is produced at YMKI's plant, is the latest in Yamaha's
series of sporty motorcycles. Its previous sporty brands include the
135cc RX King and the 225cc Scorpio. Yamaha is competing with Honda's
Tiger and MegaPro in this particular market.
Total motorcycle sales in the country reached 5.1 million in 2005, 90
percent of which were bebeks. In 2006, sales plunged to 4.6 million.
In the first three months of this year, national motorcycle sales
reached 1.05 million, with Astra Honda Motor controlling 43 percent of
the market, Yamaha 41 percent and Suzuki and other producers holding
the remaining 16 percent.
However, in March alone, Yamaha sales amounted to 43 percent of the
375,000 motorcycles sold, for the first time ever exceeding sales of
Hondas, which amounted to 41 percent.
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