JAKARTA: Indonesia’s plan to launch a national electric motorcycle brand within weeks is prompting industry players to seek clarity over the programme, as the government moves to redirect long-delayed purchase incentives for electric vehicles (EV) to the new initiative.
President Prabowo Subianto has said that Indonesia would soon have its own two-wheeler EV brand as part of his ambition to build a domestic automotive industry capable of producing vehicles designed and manufactured by Indonesian engineers.
The new electric motorcycle brand and the company selected to manufacture it will be announced on Aug 13, according to state asset fund Danantara chief technology officer Sigit Puji Santosa.
Sigit, who also serves as chief executive officer of PT Pindad, denied that the state-owned defence manufacturer would be tasked with producing it, saying the company “had already been tasked” to develop a homegrown car brand.
“There will be a new brand, with the design by Indonesian engineers.
“The design and production will be ours,” Sigit said on Wednesday.
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi confirmed the government’s plan on July 21, describing the project as a strategic effort to strengthen domestic production and accelerate the transition of the country’s vehicle ecosystem toward renewables while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Monday that the government’s long-delayed EV incentives would be tied to “the development of the national electric motorcycle and car projects”, without explaining further.
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said that EV incentives would continue but be redirected to selected companies based on recommendations from the Industry Ministry and Danantara.
While the distribution mechanism would change, the quota would remain unchanged at 200,000 vehicles, he said.
However, Setia Diarta, director general for metal, machinery, transportation equipment and electronics at the Industry Ministry, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that he had not yet received details regarding the plan but affirmed that the ministry would be involved in the industrial strategy.
Business players welcomed the plan but urged the government to provide greater clarity on its implementation and ensure that planned support for the broader EV industry remains in place, including purchase incentives for electric two and four-wheelers and subsidies for converting conventional motorcycles to EV.
Budi Setiyadi, secretary-general of the Indonesian Electric Motorcycle Industry Association (Aismoli), said the country already had sufficient manufacturing capacity and urged the government to involve existing local players across the supply chain.
“We are basically ready [to give support]. But even now, we still do not have clarity on how the government will drive this programme,” Budi said, pointing to state-owned enterprise-backed electric motorcycle brand Gesits as evidence that the country already had a domestic platform to build on.
Aismoli is calling on the government to revive purchase incentives for electric two-wheelers and press ahead with its motorcycle conversion scheme, adding that discussions with technical ministries had been held but neither initiative had yet to get off the ground.
“What remains is [for the government] to decide how much the conversion subsidy and the purchase incentive will be. They are important for reducing fuel subsidy spending, and the industry is eagerly waiting for them,” Budi said.
The Indonesian Employers Association economy policy analyst Ajib Hamdani said Prabowo’s plan could help build a broader domestic industrial ecosystem only if it generated genuine local value creation.
A motorcycle “should only be considered a national product” if it meets a local content requirement of more than 50%, including locally developed intellectual property and key components such as the chassis, battery pack and wiring, and not simply “rebranding foreign-made motorcycles”.
“We should not only design a motorcycle, but create a productive economic tool that can help drive people’s livelihoods,” Ajib told the Jakarta Post.
Yusuf Rendy Manilet, a researcher at the Centre of Reform on Economics, said a homegrown vehicle brand could help advance the country’s industrial ambitions, but warned the government against rushing the initiative without a strong industrial foundation that generates real value and avoids repeating past project mistakes.
Indonesia had about 145 million motorcycles on the road in 2025, according to Statistics Indonesia, with annual sales averaging about six million units.
Electric motorcycle adoption, however, remains limited, with only about 229,000 units on the road last year, far below the government’s target of two million units.
Sales slowed last year amid weaker market demand and the expiry of the government’s purchase incentive programme for electric two-wheelers.
In March, Prabowo launched an energy transition task force to convert up to 120 million motorcycles to electric within three to four years as war-driven oil price shocks laid bare the nation’s dependence on imported fuel. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
