Exports of Indonesian Motorcycles Continue to Grow Robustly
Indonesia's motorcycle exports in the first four months of 2018 reached 174,123 units, up 41.1 percent year-on-year from exports in the January-April period one year earlier. These data were released by the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI). The marked increase in exports is attributed to the competitive price of Indonesian motorcycles in combination with good quality.
Earlier, stakeholders in Indonesia's motorcycle industry had already informed that prices of Indonesian motorcycles are competitive because there is no price difference between units sold on the domestic market and those that are sold on the international market. Meanwhile, recent rupiah weakness should make Indonesian motorcycles even more competitive although production costs may also experience a rise as imports of specific spare-parts become more expensive.
The Yamaha brand was the most popular one in the aforementioned period. A total of 96,900 Indonesian-made Yamahas were shipped to overseas markets in the January-April 2018 period. After Yamaha the most popular Indonesian motorcycles are Honda, Suzuki, TVS, and Kawasaki.
Sigit Kumala, Commercial Head at AISI, added that massive production at home is another factor that causes competitive motorcycle prices, both on the domestic and overseas markets. Meanwhile, the improving global economy - including the economies of those markets that import Indonesian motorcycles - resulted in additional demand.
The table below does show a steep decline in motorcycle exports from 53,152 units in March 2018 to 44,271 units in the following month. Kumala, however, said no accurate conclusions can be drawn from this monthly decline because it all depends on the motorcycle stockpiles of importers. Hence, sharp swings in exports are possible on a month-on-month basis.
Exports of Indonesian Motorcycles:
| Month | 2017 | 2018 | Growth |
| January |
28,406 | 38,021 | +33.9% |
| February | 27,478 | 38,679 | +40.8% |
| March | 32,367 | 53,152 | +64.2% |
| April | 35,152 | 44,271 | +26.0% |
| Total | 123,403 | 174,123 | +41.1% |
Source: AISI