Indonesia's Minister of Industry recently said that the government will provide Indonesian citizens over the age of 17 with a subsidy of about Rp 7 million for the one-time purchase of an electric motorcycle.
Previously, the Indonesian government had announced subsidies for select electric motorcycle buyers, and the latest regulation has extended the program's reach even further.
Aswan, 25, is a registered rider for Go-Jek, an Indonesian online taxi platform, and uses his motorcycle to pick up orders for passengers in Jakarta on weekdays. He then switched to an electric motorcycle after the new regulation was enacted.
"The policy is a great incentive to save costs and focus on the environment, so it kills two birds with one stone. In the past, we had to spend more than Rp 100,000 on refueling every few days, but now we spend less than half of that. Passengers also like the electric motorcycle with little noise and no exhaust fumes." he said.
In the streets of Bangkok, Jakarta, and other major cities in Southeast Asia, motorcycles are one of the main ways for many people to travel, while carrying a variety of services such as takeaway delivery, carrying passengers, and running errands.
Relevant data show that in 2022, the size of the motorcycle market in the ten ASEAN countries reached 10.6 million units, ranking third in the world.
During the initial half of this year, Southeast Asia experienced remarkable motorcycle sales, with a staggering volume of 7.5 million units, solidifying its position as one of the world's fastest-growing regions in this industry.
However, overall, the electrification rate of motorcycles in Southeast Asia is low. By the year 2022, electric motorcycles held less than 1% market share in Southeast Asia.
Under the general trend of regional countries to promote the transformation of automobile electrification, policy measures to popularize electric motorcycles have been put in place, and local companies are taking active actions to capture the electric motorcycle market.
In August 2022, the Thai government approved a budget of 2.923 billion baht to support the development of the electric vehicle and electric motorcycle industries.
For high-performance electric motorcycles that reach speeds of 80 kilometers per hour or more, Thailand has launched a supporting incentive policy, whereby electric motorcycles with a retail price of up to 150,000 baht are entitled to a subsidy of 18,000 baht per unit.
Go-Jek, which now has more than 2 million registered riders, plans to replace all its motorcycles with electric models by 2030, providing a boost to the Indonesian government's goal of popularizing 9 million electric motorcycles by 2030.
Currently, insufficient infrastructure such as charging piles, limited range, and unstable power supply have constrained the popularization of electric motorcycles in Southeast Asia to a certain extent.
To break through the predicament, Southeast Asian governments and enterprises actively take measures to create a more mature electric motorcycle ecosystem.
