DNC to sell 15,000 to 20,000 Malaysian motorcycles in Sri Lanka
View(s):DNC Asiatic Holdings Sdn Bhd targets to sell 15,000 to 20,000 made-in-Malaysia motorcycles in Sri Lanka this year, Malaysia’s STAR newspaper reported.
The 51:49 Malaysia-China joint venture firm sold close to 2,000 units last year in Sri Lanka, the first overseas market it penetrated two years ago, it revealed.
STAR newspaper quoted DNC Asiatic executive director Hu Ying as saying that the company planned to introduce five new models two each for the street bike and scooter and a scrambler this year on top of the three models it marketed in Sri Lanka last year when it started commercial production of motorcycles.
“In the past two years, we concentrated on studying the market there. We tried to understand the riding habits of the end-users, their preferences and the business operations of our competitors. We are beginning to reap the fruit of our efforts,” Hu told the paper.
Hu said as the Sri Lankans were more concerned about fuel efficiency as petrol was much more expensive than Malaysia, DNC Asiatic’s new models were designed to suit their preferences.
According to Hu, street bikes are the dominant models in Sri Lanka where about 300,000 motorcycles of all types were sold last year, which was a massive increase from some 135,000 units in 2009.
“The sales was affected in second half of 2012 as manufacturers increased the sales prices after the Sri Lankan government revised the duties on imported motorcycles,” she said.
Sri Lanka’s top selling brands are mostly imported from India. Hu stated that DNC Asiatic was committed to pump in more money to build up the Sri Lankan market as its second hub for future expansion in view of the huge development potential in the country.
She added that the company’s target this year was to increase sales of its Demak brand motorcycles to 40,000 units from some 30,000 units last year.
She disclosed to the STAR newspaper that the company was expected to launch soon its first three-wheeler utility vehicle for the plantation sector.
A model of the utility vehicle is expected to be put on display during the SME Corp Malaysia exhibition at KLCC in June this year.
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