Conversion of Electric Motorcycles or Purchasing New Electric Motorcycles?

The Indonesian government is encouraging the shift from fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles, either through the purchase of new units or the conversion of older vehicles. One of the steps taken is a programme to convert petrol motorcycles into electric ones. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, revealed that he has been appointed as the Head of the National Energy Transition Task Force to implement the programme. “Acceleration of motor vehicle conversion, with 120 million motorcycles using petrol, we will try to do it gradually by converting to electric motorcycles,” Bahlil said, quoted from Kompas.com on Monday (9/3/2026). Hendro Sutono, Spokesperson for KOSMIK (Indonesian Electric Motorcycle Community), assessed that the realisation of the programme in recent years has not been effective in implementing conversion subsidy policies. “This difference gives a fairly clear signal about market behaviour. When faced with two choices, converting an old motorcycle or buying a new electric motorcycle, most consumers tend to choose the second option,” Hendro told Kompas.com on Wednesday (1/4/2026). “This is not just about price, but also about comfort, trust, and perception of the product,” he said. “To date, the number of certified conversion workshops is still around 60 nationwide. Compared to the number of motorcycle workshops which reaches hundreds of thousands, this capacity is very limited,” he said. Even so, according to Hendro, if every workshop operates optimally, the total capacity still would not be sufficient to meet the national target. The realisation of the conversion programme is still far from the target.