Unpacking Maka Motors’ long-awaited EV debut

After three years and nearly US$38 million in funding, East Ventures-backed Maka Motors finally unveiled its electric motorcycle at a glitzy downtown Jakarta event last week.

“For the first time ever, here’s the most enjoyable motorcycle,” co-founder and CEO Raditya Wibowo declared enthusiastically on stage. The statement drew applause from an audience that included prominent figures like Gojek co-founder and former Indonesian minister of education Nadiem Makarim.

Maka Motors co-founder and CEO, Raditya Wibowo, at last week’s launch event in Jakarta. / Photo credit: East Ventures

For Wibowo, who was Gojek’s former chief of transportation, this moment was a long time coming. The launch propels Maka Motors into the race among EV companies vying for a share of Indonesia’s massive motorcycle market.

Maka believes that it can beat the stiff competition in the crowded field and convince consumers to make the switch from regular two-wheelers even when Indonesia’s once generous electric motorcycle subsidies have gone. 

Why spend three years in semi-stealth mode?

The EV firm initially planned to launch its electric motorcycle, the Maka Cavalry, at the 2024 Indonesia Motorcycle Show last October. It decided to pull out at the last minute to finalize the tooling used in the mass production process.

“We wanted to make sure that by the time we launch [the motorcycle], we’re 100% ready to sell. That’s why we were operating in a semi-stealth mode in the last three years because we don’t want to create buzz while coming empty-handed,” Wibowo tells Tech in Asia.

Some EV firms have been struggling to bring their products to market. For instance, Tech in Asia recently reported that Ion Mobility is now in the process of being acquired by its largest shareholder, India’s TVS Motor.

See also: TVS Motor to buy Ion Mobility at a discount: sources

Perhaps this is why Wibowo is determined to avoid the pitfalls of overpromising and underdelivering. “There’s this distrust among consumers, and we want them to be able to trust us by getting everything ready before announcing anything,” he says. 

Maka has already accepted orders for the Maka Cavalry, which is priced at 35.9 million rupiah (US$2,194), and promises to deliver them in February. Its factory in Cikarang, West Java is already operational, albeit at about 10% of its maximum capacity of 100,000 units per year.

Development for the Maka Cavalry started in 2022, but it wasn’t until 2024 that the bike took its final form/ Photo credit: East Ventures

For 2025, the company expects to sell 15,000 units, which Wibowo says is “enough to cover the company’s operating expenses.” It currently runs five showrooms and service centers in Jakarta and nearby cities and plans to open 14 more showrooms this year. 

Making bold promises 

Enough to go mainstream and international?