Indomobil Emotor Shows No Interest in Following Electric Motorcycle Battery Rental Trend

JAKARTA – Several electric motorcycle manufacturers in Indonesia have begun offering various ownership schemes to attract consumers. One such approach involves a battery rental or subscription system, which allows users to pay a subscription fee for battery usage. However, Indomobil Emotor has chosen a different approach. The manufacturer has no plans to follow the trend of battery rental schemes or subscription systems.

Indomobil Emotor CEO Pius Wirawan stated that the decision was made after the company studied various electric vehicle business models over recent years.

“We’re not interested. We have been studying the electric motorcycle ecosystem since 2019. We benchmarked various business models, ranging from subscription to swap (battery exchange),” said Pius when asked by Kompas.com in Jakarta recently.

“Indeed, we see that electric motorcycles can grow organically if there are savings in three components: fuel, maintenance, and annual taxes,” he added.

On the other hand, battery swapping or rental schemes are seen as incurring additional costs.

“When we talk about swapping, there are additional costs involved. Some models operate on a subscription basis,” he said.

Furthermore, according to Pius, the rapid development of battery technology is also a consideration for the company in not adopting the battery rental business model.

“So all business models are actually attractive. But the model we are implementing and will continue to pursue is the one we believe is most appropriate,” said Pius.