New Electric Motorcycle Conversion Programme Only Viable if Free

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The government’s programme to convert petrol motorcycles to electric motorcycles is one of the steps to accelerate vehicle electrification in Indonesia. However, the journey of this programme has not been instantaneous, but rather through several stages of subsidy schemes until it is finally known as a “free” programme. In the initial stage, the government rolled out a conversion subsidy of Rp 7 million in 2023. This scheme became the starting point for a trial to gauge public response to the electric motorcycle conversion programme. This was then evaluated, until in 2024 the subsidy value was increased to Rp 10 million per unit. Nevertheless, this increase in subsidy apparently still failed to significantly boost interest. In 2025, the government combined the subsidy with corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, bringing the total subsidy to Rp 15 million, which is then known as the free conversion programme. Tomy Huang, founder of Bintang Racing Team, said that this dynamic shows the programme indeed requires adjustments to hit the target. According to him, the main obstacle lies in the remaining cost differential that consumers must bear, especially for older motorcycles targeted for conversion. “For example, I have a Honda BeAT with an asset value of around Rp 6 million. Then I’m asked to convert it with a Rp 7.5 million subsidy, while the cheapest conversion kit price is Rp 13 million,” said Tomy. “That means I still have to add Rp 6 million. Consumers clearly don’t want to, because owners of motorcycles over 10 years old usually have incomes equivalent to the minimum wage, so adding Rp 6 million is burdensome,” he said. “Then they tried again by increasing the subsidy to Rp 10 million, but it still didn’t work. Because from the motorcycle’s value of Rp 6 million to a Rp 10 million subsidy, consumers still have to add costs,” he stated. “Finally, the third option emerged, the government providing a Rp 10 million subsidy plus Rp 5 million from CSR, totalling Rp 15 million. This CSR fund comes from mining business entities required to meet carbon obligations,” he said.