Kanzen motorcycles expects brisk sales next year

JAKARTA (JP): The manufacturer of Kanzen motorcycles, PT Semesta Citra Motorindo (SCM), said on Thursday it expected to sell at least 60,000 units next year.

"We've already sold around 1,000 units this year, which is pretty good since we only launched the product in November," SCM president Urwan Herlambang said during a breaking of the fast gathering here.

He said next year the Indonesian motorcycle market was expected to grow to between 1.1 million and 1.2 million units from about 800,000 this year.

Urwan said that for the moment the company is not even dreaming of competing with established brands in terms of quantity, but for the long term "we are optimistic that the market will always be open for companies that offer high-quality products with competitive price like us".

SCM chief commissioner Rini M.S. Soewandi said the company would expand its sales network to Central Java in January, focusing on Yogyakarta and Surakarta in particular.

It will also be expanding its existing market in East and West Java, she added.

Rini said SCM was scheduled to introduce a new motorcycle model by the end of 2001.

Urwan said that when its factory in East Karawang, West Java, began operation in January, Kanzen's quality could be more assured.

"In terms of quality Kanzen is about 90 percent to 95 percent the quality of Japanese motorcycles, but when we start assembling them locally we will be able to get even closer," he said.

He said that by the end of January, Kanzen motorcycles would be fully assembled in the country, with local content of above 10 percent.

The company, one of the newest in the domestic motorcycle market, is currently looking for local suppliers to provide it with high-quality components like the rubber on the handlebars.

"We've found some potential suppliers in East Java, but they are not ready to supply to us right away. They still need to consult," Urwan said.

Next year the company will look into suppliers that can provide metal components, he added.

SCM cooperated with the Agency for Technological Research and Application (BPPT) in November to test and develop Kanzen's engines.

"Our cooperation with BPPT was to develop Kanzen's prototype engine, to give it more power and better torque, with the idea of developing new engines," Urwan said. (tnt)