'Bajaj' replacement program to take years to complete
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration's target to flood Jakarta streets with 14,500 kancil vehicles in the next three months, to replace the noisy, polluting bajaj, would not materialize as the company tasked to produce Kancil would only be able to assemble 250 Kancil vehicles in the next three months.
The marketing director of automotive firm PT. Kurnia Abadi Niaga Citra Indah Lestari (Kancil), Kresna D. Abednegoro, said on Thursday that the company would only be able to supply 1,000 locally-made kancils by the end of this year.
"Of course, the city would not need all 14,500 in the next three months. The replacement of bajaj would be conducted gradually," he told The Jakarta Post after a meeting with Governor Sutiyoso.
In the long term, Kresna said that his company was prepared to produce up to 18,000 four-wheeled motorized Kancils, to replace the Indian-made three-wheeled motorized bajajs.
After the meeting, Governor Sutiyoso said that he wanted the bajaj replacement program to be started earlier than scheduled. "If the program could be started sooner why not?"
He reiterated that the program should benefit bajaj owners and drivers, saying that he would set up a dialog with bajaj owners and drivers to hear their concerns.
The governor also revealed that the company had agreed to produce kancil that would be fueled by gas to support the city's clean air program.
Many have objected to the widespread use of the gasoline- fueled bajajs as they contribute to the city's air pollution and are very noisy.
Kresna said his company had prepared two prototypes of kancil, one with a gas-fueled engine, as is required by the city administration, and another with a gasoline-fueled engine for private use.
"As long as the city can provide sufficient gas stations, we have no problem with producing gas-fueled kancil," he claimed.
The city administration has targeted to remove all the noisy and polluting bajajs from the city, by introducing kancils.
Currently there are more than 20,000 bajajs operating in the city, of which some 13,500 are registered with the city administration and the police. The remaining bajajs are unlicensed.
Owners of registered bajajs would have the first chance to get Kancils by exchanging their bajajs with the new kancils.
According to the head of the City's Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJ), Buyung Atang, PT Kancil would buy the old bajajs at Rp 7.5 million (US$680) each, that would be used as a down-payment to get a new kancil vehicle.
The price of kancil vehicles has been set at between Rp 25 million and Rp 30 million a unit. Bajaj owners consider this price too expensive.
Commenting on complaints from bajaj owners over the price, Kresna said that the price was the lowest possible price for such a small vehicle.
"Bajaj businessmen should not just think of amassing a huge profit. We have estimated that the price is the most feasible right now," he said.
He calculated that kancil buyers could pay Rp 40,000 in installments per day. It would take three to four years to buy one kancil using the proposed mechanism.
Meanwhile, Juliari Batubara, a director at PT Kancil's city distributor PT Graha Esa Solusi Transportasi (Gesit), said an advertisement billboard would be attached in the body of kancil to help reduce the price for the owners.
"So far, Coca-Cola is probably going to place an advertisement on the kancil vehicle body. We are still discussing the matter with the company," Juliari said.
Kancil, with an engine capacity of 404 cc and a gas capacity of 20 liters, could run at a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
Kresna noted that most components for the production of kancil vehicles would be procured from domestic suppliers, except the engine block that would be imported from Japan.
PT Kancil has hired an assembling plant in Tangerang belonging to a local automotive assembling company to assemble kancil vehicles. (jun)