Maka Motors Undaunted by Competition from Chinese Electric Motorcycles

KatadataOTO – US import tariffs are believed to bring many impacts. Especially for the automotive sector or industry.

Several countries like China, affected by this new Donald Trump rule, could potentially seek alternative markets besides Uncle Sam's country.

Indonesia could become one of the candidate destination countries to sell their various automotive products, such as electric motorcycles.

Therefore, many parties fear that electric two-wheelers from China with competitive prices will flood the domestic market.

Photo : KatadataOTO

If this happens, it is predicted to disrupt the sales of Indonesian manufacturers who have already been playing in the EV (Electric Vehicle) segment.

However, this condition does not daunt Maka Motors. According to them, the presence of products from China has been happening for a long time in the country.

“The biggest electric motorcycle brands from China had actually entered the Indonesian market long before the discourse on government policy changes emerged,” said Raditya Wibowo, CEO and Founder of Maka Motors to KatadataOTO some time ago.

Raditya explained that the population of electric two-wheelers in the country is still very low. Only about one percent of total new motorcycle sales.

According to him, this proves that the presence of electric motorcycles from China has not yet been able to entice consumers here.

“To increase the penetration of electric motorcycles, products that truly match the needs of users in Indonesia are required. But the existing products from China have not been able to answer this need,” Raditya continued.

Thus, there is still a large gap or opportunity for manufacturers in Indonesia to compete in the EV market.

Especially by trading electric motorcycles that are indeed created according to the characteristics of domestic buyers.

“Maka Motors from the beginning has focused on designing and producing electric motorcycles suitable for the Indonesian market,” Raditya added.

He further revealed that the use of local components is not just to chase the TKDN (Local Component Level) number.

Photo : Courtesy

But rather so that spare parts are easily available to consumers. And then the quality can be well maintained.

“Because local suppliers truly understand the needs of motorcycle users here,” emphasized the Maka Motors executive.

For your information, Maka Motors also supports President Prabowo Subianto's proposal to relax the TKDN regulations and replace them with incentives.