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Indonesians wait for motorbikes as chip crunch hits home
Getting one’s hands on a two-wheeler has just gotten harder as customers must contend with long delivery times like never before. Caught up in the global semiconductor shortage, many producers are failing to meet demand.
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Motorcycles are ready for delivery at a factory. (Kontan/Muradi)
T
hirty-one-year-old Lukman from the East Java city of Malang was puzzled when many dealers told him last week that it would take three months to deliver the motorcycle model of his choice.
Normally, delivery would take less than a month, often just a week, after the down payment was made.
As a way out, one dealer suggested that he pick a model from the available stock, which he declined.
One salesperson showed him a circular from the producer, informing local dealers to expect longer delivery times from the central manufacturing hub due to spiking demand. All motorcycle types within the brand are affected, including the one Lukman is looking to buy.
Relying on ride-hailing services to get around, Lukman figured that owning a bike himself would save him money. “I felt hopeless”, he recalled when speaking to The Jakarta Post on May 22, explaining that up until that point he had been unable to find one without a three-month delivery period.
Luckily, a colleague had then introduced him to a local salesperson who managed to secure one faster. Lukman quickly made a down payment on May 21, after being promised that his motorcycle would arrive within two weeks.
Suci, 21, an employee from Bogor, West Java, was not so lucky. She was desperately in need of a new motorcycle after hers suddenly broke down.
