Honda revs up Indonesian motorbike mkt

---

JAKARTA, Sept 25 (AFP): Unreliable public transport, congested roads and a booming middle class make populous Indonesia one of the world's largest motorcycle markets, and Japan's Honda Motor wants a bigger slice of the pie. With sales dropping in Europe and the United States in recent years, Honda is eyeing a 60-per cent stake in Indonesia's market over the next decade, revving up the competition with its biggest rival, Yamaha. "The potential demand for motorcycles in Indonesia is huge, and we'll keep increasing production in line with consumers' purchasing power," Indonesia's Astra Honda Motor communication head Kristanto told AFP. Honda and Yamaha are almost neck-and-neck. Honda served 46 per cent of the market in 2010 with 3.4 million sales units, and Yamaha served 45 per cent at 3.3 million units. Together they supply almost 90 per cent of demand. But Honda is hungry to capture 52 per cent of the expected 8.2 million units this year, Kristanto said. Yamaha is keeping cool despite Honda's ambitions, as its sales are forecast to jump 6.3 per cent this year. "We are not going to worry. We'll do our best and focus on our own strategy, especially giving customers the best service," Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia spokesman Eko Prabowo said. Automakers have been keen to tap the growing motorcycle market in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, which has 240 million people. Indonesia's motorcycle market is the world's third biggest after China and India.