DNC to sell 15,000 to 20,000 made-in-Malaysia motorcycles in Sri Lanka

KUCHING: DNC Asiatic Holdings Sdn Bhd targets to sell 15,000 to 20,000 made-in-Malaysia motorcycles in Sri Lanka this year.

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.

DNC Asiatic Executive Director Hu Ying said to boost sales in a big way, 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 that country last year when it started commercial production of the 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,” she told StarBiz.

Hu said as the Sri Lankans were more concerned about fuel efficiency as petrol in that country was much more expensive than Malaysia, DNC Asiatic’s new models were designed to suit their preferences.

According to her, street bikes are the dominant models in Sri Lanka where about 300,000 motorcycles of all types were sold last year, which was a big improvement 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 said 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 there.

Back home, she said 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.

“Our 2013’s capex (capital expenditure) is RM50mil, with RM30mil to be spent on the new plant complex project in Kuala Langat, Selangor while the budget for new products’ development, products’ redevelopment and marketing activities is about RM15mil,” she said.

Hu said the proposed RM43mil plant complex was more than 30% complete and should be ready late this year.

With a built-up area of about 17,000 sq m, the plant will have two production lines with annual output of 100,000 motorbikes. It will house a comprehensive research and development centre.

The company’s existing factory in Batu Caves would be relocated to the new complex. DNC Asiatic’s first plant in Demak Laut Industrial Park, Kuching, was commissioned in 2003.

To mark the grand opening of the new plant complex in conjunction with DNC Asiatic’s 10th anniversary sometime next year, Hu said the company planned to unveil several new models to boost domestic sales.

Two new Demak motorbike models were patented with Intellectual Properties Corp of Malaysia last December.

DNC Asiatic is Malaysia’s leader in the scrambler category but sales of the Demak scramblers is presently confined to the peninsula market. The company, which markets 150cc and 200cc scramblers priced between RM6,000 and RM7,000 a unit, sold some 3,000 scramblers last year.

“This year, our plan is to popularise Demak scramblers in Sarawak through a series of promotional and marketing activities like organising convoys to generate public interest. We will also educate riders on the safety aspects,” said Hu.

She said the company was expected to launch soon its first three-wheeler utility vehicle for the plantation/farming sector.

A model of the utility vehicle is expected to be put on display during SME Corp Malaysia exhibition at KLCC in June.

The vehicle, which has undergone rigorous field testing in the past several months, can transport up to 750kg of oil palm fruits, other agricultural produces, fertilisers and farm inputs.

Hu said the vehicle was expected to be sold for around RM15,000 per unit, one third of the cheapest lorry/truck available in the market. (The Star.com)