Honda Motor demonstrated its first personal electric motorcycle EM1 e in Japan last month. Honda said that the next stop of this new car will enter Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia. The first electric two-wheeler.
The EM1 e-electric motorbike is scheduled to go on sale in Japan on 24 August, where it will cost around 300,000 yen (currently around RMB 15,300) and have a range of 53 kilometers.
While the specifications of the Indonesian model have not been disclosed, a Honda representative called it “a pioneer in exploring customer response and demand as the first mass-market model.”
Honda also said it will release another model to Indonesia this year and possibly more next year, with plans to sell seven electric motorbikes by 2030 and reach a sales target of 1 million units that year.
According to the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association, 5.22 million two-wheelers were sold in the country last year. Models for the Indonesian market will reportedly include both replaceable and non-replaceable battery models, and Honda is also said to be considering new investments in its Indonesian factories.
Honda plans to sell 3.5 million electric motorbikes globally by 2030, with about 30% of them coming from Indonesia. The company plans to electrify all its motorbikes by mid-2045.
According to German Statista, the motorbike market in Southeast Asia will reach 10.6 million units in 2022, the third largest in the world after China (15.5 million units) and India (12.63 million units). Indonesia accounts for more than half of the regional market, with sales of more than 5 million units.
Honda’s motorbike market share in Indonesia reached 88% by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2023, according to the company. Combined with its support from rivals such as Yamaha, the Japanese brand controls more than 90% of the market. They also dominate the rest of Southeast Asia.
“Japanese companies have a high share of petrol vehicles and have been slow to electrify,” said Hirotaka Uchida, a partner at US consultancy Arthur D. Little. “In response to challenges from China and local rivals, market leader Honda has embarked on an electrification transition.”
