SOUTHEAST ASIA: INDONESIA REPORT
Indonesian ridesharing giant Gojek plans to convert all its motorcycles to EVs by 2030. The adoption of EV motorcycles is now in full swing in Indonesia, the largest motorcycle market in Southeast Asia with annual sales of more than 5 million units.
Gojek, the country’s leading ridesharing and delivery company, is said to have over 2 million registered riders, including both motorcycles and cars. The full conversion to EV bikes is expected to contribute significantly to the Indonesian government’s goal of 9 million EV bikes by 2030.
Gojek is expanding its sourcing of EV bikes. In addition to forming a strategic alliance with Gogoro, the “Tesla of motorcycles,” the company has also invested in Electrum, an EV motorcycle manufacturer, and in late June began construction of a new factory in West Java with an initial annual production capacity of 250,000 units.
Source: The Nikkei
PSR Analysis: The motorcycle market in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam is extremely large. While four-wheeled vehicles such as Uber are the mainstay of ridesharing in North America and other regions, motorcycles are by far the mainstay of ridesharing in Southeast Asia. The sheer number of motorcycles on the road is overwhelming. It takes less than three minutes for a vehicle to actually arrive after a request for dispatch via an app.
As I have pointed out previously, Japanese OEMs are dominant in the motorcycle market in Southeast Asia. However, in response to this wave of electrification, Honda and Yamaha have yet to release inexpensive EV motorcycles in a price range that would be supported locally. Electric models are already on the market, but they are expensive, require leasing contracts, or are being tested on a trial basis. However, I believe that the traditional Japanese approach may be missing the right moment at a time when the market is undergoing a major transformation. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia, for Power Systems Research
