Budget motorcycles the star at fair

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

Although more than three million motorcycles have been registered with the Jakarta Police, people are still buying them, arguing they are the only means of transportation affordable to them.

At the Jakarta Fair, Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, motorcycle stands have been the most popular attraction since the annual expo was officially opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on June 17.

"Motorcycles are among the products that have attracted large numbers of visitors, based on our initial monitoring," said Adrian Putra, spokesman for the Jakarta Fair organizers, on Tuesday afternoon. However, he did not reveal how many people had visited the motorcycle stands.

More than 10 motorcycle producers from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and host Indonesia are participating in the month- long event, organized to commemorate the city's 477th anniversary.

Harry, a counter attendant for Honda, which is made and sold by PT Astra International on behalf of Japan's Honda Motor Co., said around 1,500 Honda motorcycles -- 70 percent of them step- through bikes -- have been sold since the opening day.

With only five days left before the close on July 18, he was still optimistic that Honda sales could exceed last year's figure of 2,000 units.

Data from the police says there are at least 3.3 million motorcycles registered in the city and the number is expected to increase by 35,000 units per month this year.

The increased number of motorcycles -- thanks to producers offering them at affordable prices via ads -- has meant the police have run out of combinations for registration numbers.

Previously, the police issued numbers starting with a "B", followed by four digits and two letters. The "B" indicates Jakarta. The new numbers will have a similar combination except that they will now have three letters.

PT Kymco Motor sales official Yan Agus said he could sell an average of 15 Taiwan-made Kymco motorcycles per day during the fair.

"Sales on weekends usually increase to at least 20 units," he said.

It is very easy to buy a motorcycle now, he said. Customers need only make a down payment of Rp 100,000 (US$11.33) and agree to subsequent payment by installments before they can take home a Kymco motorcycle, the price of which ranges from Rp 9.7 million to Rp 17.5 million, depending on the type.

A marketing manager at Viva Motor, Robby Umbawa, said that around 300 Viva motorcycles had been sold since the start of the fair. Each is offered at Rp 5.2 million to Rp 12.5 million.

"The main intention in participating in the event is not only to sell as many motorcycles as possible, but also to introduce our product to the public," he said, adding that the Viva, which is made in Tangerang under license from the holding company in China, is now sold in Papua.

The organizers have estimated that the event will attract 2.2 million visitors, or about 70,000 people per day, and generate transactions of up to Rp 250 billion (US$26.6 million). Currently, the number of visitors is around 50,000 on working days and 125,000 on weekends.

Last year, around 1.7 million Jakartans visit the fair, which generated about Rp 208 billion in transactions.