Modenas To Use Greece And Iran As Gateways To New Markets

By Zainal Abdul Jalil

GURUN (Kedah), Nov 9, 2008 (Bernama) - Motosikal dan Engin Nasional Sdn Bhd (Modenas) plans to use Greece and Iran as gateways to markets in Europe and the Middle East to compete with well-known Japanese manufacturers.

Its chief executive officer Abdul Harith Abdullah, in stating this, said Modenas was also making preparations to enter the markets in Indonesia and Vietnam by middle of next year.

"Modenas needs to be ready to meet demand when the plans are finalised," he told Bernama here Friday.

Besides looking at the markets of Indonesia, Vietnam and Iran, Modenas was making preparations to increase its motorcycle production to 400,000 units per year, Abdul Harith said.

For the Indonesian market which has an annual demand of 4.5 million units, Modenas was targeting one percent or 50,000 units, he said, adding that for the Vietnamese market with annual demand of two million units, the company was aiming for five percent.

On Modenas' position in Greece, Abdul Harith said the company has been doing well by marketing about 80,000 units each year since entering the market 10 years ago.

"Although the top choice among the European community is the Japanese motorcycle which has long been in the market, Modenas is confident of getting a bigger share of the market through working with distributors," he said.

According to Abdul Harith, Modenas has been able to strengthen its position in Greece and break the traditional Japanese dominance because the company's motorcycles complied with all the European specifications, including the "green" standard."We will continue to be a major player in Greece and make it a transit point for Modenas to enter other markets in Europe in the next five years," he said.

On the market in Iran, Abdul Harith said exports have improved in the past four months with the company recently sending 3,000 units and orders were still being received. He said discussions to open an assembly plant in Iran had started with the major distributor there.

Abdul Harith said several new models have been identified for roll-out next year, including for the export markets.

He said the Kriss 120 model launched in August this year has received a good response with 10,000 units handed over and another 12,000 units in the process of delivery. The Kriss 120, he added, is expected to contribute half of the company's motorcycle sales next year, estimated at 500,000 units.

Modenas expects its motorcycle sales to reach 475,000 units this year, up by six percent from 2006 which recorded 450,000 units, Abdul Harith said. The company will continue the production of models like the Moped Kriss 100, Kriss 110 and Excite because of their popularity due to performance and quality as well as fuel efficiency, he said.

- BERNAMA