ELECTRUM, a joint venture between GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GoTo) and TBS Energi Utama (TBS), has begun construction of a factory to build electric motorcycles (e-motos) in Indonesia, the company said in an announcement on Friday (Jun 23).

Located around 60 km from Jakarta, the factory will occupy a 3-ha area at Greenland International Industrial Center Cikarang, in Bekasi, West Java.

The facility’s planned completion is “mid-2024”, and is expected to be able to produce up to 250,000 vehicles a year, and will also have a quality control and testing laboratory, a research and development centre, and a test track. The company also said that the factory will have an “efficient” energy and waste management capability, and water treatment facility.

Pandu Sjahrir, the president director of Electrum, said that the factory is an important milestone in the company’s efforts to support Indonesia’s goal of building a “comprehensive two-wheel EV (electric vehicle) ecosystem locally, ranging from battery infrastructure to electric motor technology”.

GoTo Gojek Tokopedia is the parent entity of ride-hailing and logistics firm Gojek, formed from its merger with e-commerce business Tokopedia.

GoTo formed the mobility company Electrum as a joint venture with mining company TBS in 2021, which then announced its intention to produce its own e-motos in October 2022.

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In 2022, Electrum and Gojek conducted an e-moto pilot scheme in Jakarta with “500 EVs operated by Gojek driver-partner” covering nine million km travelled.

Indonesia’s support of EVs through subsidies means that its most popular form of transport – motorcycles – has large potential for electrification.

Multiple e-moto mobility companies and startups are already operating there, including Indonesian company Alva and Singaporean company Charged.

Singapore e-moto startup Ion Mobility has also announced its intention to enter the Indonesian market in future.