Indonesian Shifts to Electric Motorcycles

Based on data from Indonesian traffic police in 2021, there were 143,340,128 motorized vehicles (Viva Otomotif 2021, 6 Sept 2021). Most of them use gasoline as fuel. This was more than half of the population of this country. The military conflict that is still going on this week between Russia and Ukraine has triggered the rise of fossil fuel. The increase awareness among global society about the importance of creating cleaner atmosphere can also be felt in Indonesia.

People shift to electric motorcycles that are cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Shops that sell conventional gasoline powered motorcycles start to provide electric motorcycles. 

Electric motorcycle makers have listed their companies in Indonesian stock exchange. Some of them include PT. Wijaya Karya (Persero) TBK (through its subsidiary PT WIKA Industri Manufaktur); and PT Gaya Abadi Sempurna (SLIS).

SELIS AGATS - an electric motorcycle - a product of PT Gaya Abadi Sempurna

The trend of Indonesian people shift to electric motorcycle will continue to increase in the coming years. It becomes a great opportunity for these electric motorcycle makers to expand their business. SLIS recorded 20% increase in the sales of electric bike and electric motorcycles. They are now opening more shops in cities and towns in Java, Bali and Sumatra. If they manage to open more shops throughout Indonesia, they will be able to reach more marketshare. Their electric bikes and motorcycles are offered in marketplace websites such as tokopedia; shopee; and lazada; bukalapak; jd.id; blibli.com and akulaku. This marketing strategy significantly expand the reach of selis bikes and motorcycles to thousands of cities, towns and villages across Indonesian archipelago. 

A lot of Indonesian are interested in buying electric bikes because they are cheaper than gasoline powered motorcycles. They don't need to go to petrol station anymore. They just need to swab batteries or recharge their electric bikes at home.

Local electric bike manufacturers still need to improve the quality of their bikes especially in the range, energy density, charging time and power. 

The potential market of electric bike in Indonesia is huge. There are approximately 273,5 million people in 2021. 

The use of renewable energy in Indonesia is still low. It was 11.5 % in 2020. The Indonesian government plan to increase it to 23% by 2045 by generating power from solar, wind, hydro and biomass energy. 

The increase use of electric vehicles in Indonesia will significantly reduce the country's Carbon Dioxide emission if the energy that is produced to supply the vehicles is coming from renewable resources. This will be a great development for the conservation of global environment. 

Also read:

• Hydrogen Society