Total sales of motorcycles in the country will likely increase from 4.4 million last year to 4.8 million this year and to about 5.2 million to 5.4 million next year, according to an executive.
"Indonesia, with a per capita income of US$1,600, will continue to see increased sales of motorcycles until the per capita income reaches $3,000," president of the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI) Gunadi Sindhuwinata said on the sidelines of a seminar Monday.
According to AISI, total motorcycles sales in the country during the first eight months ot the year already reached 2.9 million, up by 10.9 percent from 2.62 million in the same period last year.
Gunadi said that motorcycles were popular in the country as they were a cheap form of transportation, even when compared to mass transportation.
He said that the steady increase of sales over the last few years had made Indonesia the third largest country in terms of motorcycle numbers after China and India, where annual sales of motorcycles grew by 14 million and 8 million respectively.
"The motorcycle population in the country is now estimated at 23 million," he said, "It is likely to exceed 28 million as of the end of next year."
He said that the rising number of motorcycles would boost the business in spare parts.
"The growth rate of the sales of spare parts is usually