Last to start, but first on road: New Singapore e-bike maker heats up EV race

Shadine Taufik contributed to this story.

Their green garb being a telltale sign of their line of work, four food delivery drivers stood outside the glass panels of an experience and after-sales center in Kemang, South Jakarta, talking among themselves. The store belongs to Charged Asia, an e-motorcycle company headquartered in Singapore.

These drivers make up a majority of the firm’s customers, says its co-founder and group CEO Joel CY Chang.

Chang was previously a co-founder at two other electric vehicle firms, Scorpio Electric and Ion Mobility.

Joel CY Chang, co-founder and group CEO of Charged Asia / Photo credit: Charged Asia

Charged’s entry into the market comes at a busy time for the industry, with several players already in Southeast Asia. But it has a distinct advantage – one that has slingshotted its timelines. This edge is its association with Perth-based Vmoto, an e-mobility solutions provider listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

See more: Mapping SEA’s electric vehicle players

For starters, this association has helped Charged Asia move fast. Establishing its “zero emissions” factory, from groundbreaking to commissioning, took about six months. Mass production started being commissioned in December 2022, shares the group CEO.

“It’s all about speed,” says Chang. “If you’re trying to make an impact in what’s easily the third largest motorcycle market in the world [Indonesia], and [Jakarta being] one of the most polluted cities of the world, you have to move fast.”

Charged Asia has put out close to 1,000 bikes till date, he shares.

“We’re pretty much breakeven now and are confident we will be profitable by the end of the year,” says Chang. These profits would be driven largely from subscriptions, he adds.

Leaning on subscriptions

Charged Asia – which owns 100% of Charged Indonesia, a local subsidiary – is the latest entrant in a country that’s expected to be a battleground in the EV industry, especially in the two-wheeler segment.

While the Indonesian arm’s sales have been concentrated in Jakarta and Greater Jakarta, the firm has also shipped some bikes to Bali. Some have also been sent to Malaysia and Vietnam, places where Vmoto already has its network in place.

Charging past hurdles

Still building