Bajaj Auto, the second Indian motorcycle manufacturer to have entered Indonesia, officially launched its Pulsar sporty-look motorcycle this week, marking the company's debut in Indonesia's growing market.

With the launch of the new motorcycle, which has an engine capacity of 180cc, the Indian company will be competing head to head with established manufacturers, such as Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, which have also begun to boost the sales of their sporty-look models, major national newspaper The Jakarta Post reported yesterday.

Bajaj Auto Indonesia marketing sales director Dharmesh Banerjee said the company, which would focus on the sporty-look market segment, was quite upbeat it would be able to make inroads despite the tight competition.

"The growth of this motorcycle segment in Indonesia has been steady over the last few years. There is still a major opportunity for this segment to expand," he said.

According to data from Indonesian Motorcycle Association (AISI), sales of sporty motorcycles rose to 300,000 units in 2005, accounting for about 5.9 percent of total motorcycle sales, from 25,000 units, or about 7 percent of total motorcycle sales, in 2004.

During the Thursday's launch here, the company also revealed a plan to build a factory in Indonesia with an investment of about 50 million US dollars. The plant would have a capacity of 100,000 bikes a year.