Jianshe expects to gain 10% in market

Jianshe expects to gain 10% in market

JAKARTA (JP): Chinese motorcycle producer PT PAN Jianshe
Milinia Indonesia (PJMI) expects to gain a local market share of
about 10 percent this year.

PJMI president Henry Sung said that the Indonesian motorcycle
market, which was predicted at about 1.2 million units this year,
was still wide open for Chinese-make motorcycles.

"Even though the economy hasn't fully recovered ... we see a
wide opportunity for Chinese two-wheeled vehicles," he said in a
statement.

PJMI is a joint-venture company between Chinese state-owned
company Jianshe Motor Ltd. and Indonesia's PT Multi Harapan
Sukses Sejahtera (MHSS), which is also the sole distributor of
the motorcycles here.

Sung said that demand for Chinese motorcycles in Indonesian
was constantly increasing, and the demand for Jianshe motorcycles
had increased by 35 percent over the last three months.

To fully support local demand for Jianshe motorcycles, PJMI
established an assembly plant early this year in Tangerang, West
Java.

The factory, which started commercial production in January,
has a production capacity of 120,000 motorcycles a year, MHSS
president Michael Gan said.

He said that the production capacity would be gradually
increased in line with the development of the industry and the
demand for the product here.

"Our parent company is ready to serve the Indonesian market
seriously and is ready to ask other companies in the group to
invest in Indonesia," Gan said.

PJMI general manager of operations R. Suyarto said the
establishment of Jianshe's assembly plant here would guarantee
the future of its products in Indonesia.

"Unlike other Chinese motorcycle products that do not have a
base in Indonesia, we would not be easily dismissed," he said.

Sung added that although there were currently many brands of
Chinese motorcycles, only those with a permanent base in would be
able to survive.

"The brands that survive will be those that are supported by
professional management, high quality products, a comprehensive
service facility and have full support from their principal
company," he said.

The Tangerang facility assembles Jianshe's nine motorcycle
types, mainly the cub model, sports and scooters, Suyarto said,
adding that the cub model comprises about 70 percent of
production because of its popularity in the country.

Jianshe motorcycles are one of the 57 brands of Chinese
motorcycles imports flooding the Indonesian market over the past
two years.

The cheaper imports have threatened the domination of
Japanese-make motorcycles in the country by quickly acquiring
more than 30 percent of the market.

However, Japanese motorcycle producers claim that many of the
Chinese motorcycles violated patent rights.

Major motorcycle producer Honda recently said that it had
found evidence of patent infringements on seven Chinese brands
being distributed in Indonesia.

Honda demanded the seven importers remove the patented part
from their motorcycles and stop further imports.

Suyarto said that Jianshe motorcycles were free from patent
infringements, as the company in China worked in collaboration
with Japan's Yamaha.

"Yamaha has a share in Jianshe Motor, and together they have
invented many creations according to market demand," he added.
(tnt)