Budget motorcycles the star at fair
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.