Dumping charges against China's motorbikes
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Association of Motorcycle Assemblers & Manufacturers (Pasmi) filed a petition on Tuesday with the Anti-Dumping Committee of Indonesia (KADI) against all brands of imported motorbikes from China.
Pasmi accused Chinese motorbike manufacturers and exporters of selling their products in Indonesia at unreasonably low prices.
"They sell their motorbikes at cheaper prices here than they do on their home markets," the association said in a statement.
The association said Chinese motorbike manufacturers exported their products to Indonesia at prices of between US$170 and $220 on cost and freight basis, compared to market prices in China of between $450 and $670.
The association, which groups the sole agents and assemblers of Japanese brands -- Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki -- and Italian Vespa, said the dumping practices, if continued, would eventually kill the country's motorcycle industry.
It urged KADI to immediately start investigation into all motorbikes imported from China and impose necessary anti-dumping measures on any manufacturer or exporter involved in the unfair trade.
Pasmi said the unfair trade practiced by Chinese manufacturers and exporters had enabled them to make significant inroads in the domestic market at great expense to local motorcycle assemblers.
The association claimed that market share of its five members had dropped from a stable 99 percent in previous years to 79 percent as of July this year.
The association said that Chinese manufacturers would resort to all sorts of tricks to sell their motorbikes overseas because they could not depend entirely on their home market to absorb their huge production.
China's motorbike production capacity has surged rapidly to about 20 million units per year, while its domestic market demand only stands at around 11 million units a year, the association added.
Competition in the two-wheel market in the country has become fiercer since the government allowed the importation of completely built-up motorbikes late last year.
A dozen makes from China, India, Korea and Taiwan have been challenging the market dominance of locally-assembled Japanese brands.
The new brands from China include Sanex, which is represented by PT Edico Megantra, Xiangjiang by PT Abadijaya Adiluhur, Zong- shen by PT Soyukata, Jianshe by PT Semesta Baru, Dayang by CV Jaya Abadi Makmur, Xin Dong Li by PT Maju Bersama Surya Indah Motor and Yoriko by PT Yoriko Motor Perkasa.
Local motorbike dealers and analysts predicted the sales of imported motorbikes would reach between 30,000 units and 45,000 units this year, or 5.6 percent of the national market.
Pasmi recently predicted total motorbike sales in the country at 800,000 this year, a 39 percent increase from last year's sales of 487,759.
Pasmi's data showed that Honda remained the market leader with sales of almost 93,480 in the first quarter, or about 56 percent of the total market, followed by Yamaha with 35,858 units, Suzuki 31,238, Kawasaki 4,869 and Vespa 1,003 units.
Indonesia's motorcycle market, the third largest after China and India, suffered a major setback in 1998 from the impact of the country's worst ever economic crisis.
Total motorcycle sales in the domestic market, which reached 1.88 million in 1997, dropped to 430,948 units in 1998 due to the crisis. But the industry showed some signs of recovery last year with total sales rising to 487,759 units. (cst)