Building An Electric Motorcycle Ecosystem, Gojek And Luhut's Company Disburse IDR 17 Trillion For The Next 5 Years

Gojek Indonesia collaborated with PT TBS Energi Utama Tbk to form a joint venture (JV) for the electric motor vehicle ecosystem under the name Electrum. (Photo: Instagram @pandusjahrir)

JAKARTA - Gojek Indonesia collaborated with a company owned by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, PT TBS Energi Utama Tbk to form a joint venture (JV) of the electric motor vehicle ecosystem under the name Electrum. Meanwhile, both of them are committed to invest in this joint venture company amounting to IDR 17 trillion.

TBS Deputy President Director Pandu Sjahrir said that through the joint venture, Gojek and TBS would develop businesses in the manufacturing of two-wheeled electric vehicles, battery packaging technology, battery exchange infrastructure, and financing for electric vehicles.

"So for us, together, we see that in the next 5 years we have to invest approximately IDR 16 trillion to IDR 17 trillion to make an impact because this has to be upstream to downstream. So we are not an import business from outside, selling motorcycles. No, we build it here , the battery, our charging battery is built here," he said in a virtual press conference, Thursday, November 18.

Not only that, said Pandu, his party also did not rule out the possibility of a loan option. Thus, electric motorized vehicles can be accessed by all people.

"And of course if we need a loan we can also give a loan, so that everyone can have this. So I know that motorbikes are very fundamental things for our people. still 10 years old, usually what is the first prize? A motorbike, yes, we want an electric motorbike," he said.

Pandu hopes that the initiatives carried out by Gojek and TBS in building an electric motorcycle ecosystem in the country can inspire other young entrepreneurs.

"So they are also interested in building, because the market is very large," he said.

Meanwhile, Gojek CEO Kevin Aluwi said the formation of the first national tech joint venture company in the Indonesian electric vehicle sector was a historic step. Because, this brings the spirit of mutual cooperation.

"The establishment of this joint venture reflects our seriousness and concrete steps in building an electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia. We hope this effort can create a better environment and contribute to climate change mitigation in Indonesia. Electric vehicles are the future for the transportation sector and we ensure this This can be realized more quickly through this collaboration," said Kevin.

For Gojek, Kevin said, this strategic collaboration is part of the effort to realize the GoTo Group's commitment to zero emissions or zero carbon emissions.

"Gojek targets to become a carbon-neutral platform and transition to 100 percent electric vehicles by 2030," he said.

Previously, Gojek had announced a commercial trial of the use of electric motors that implemented a battery swap scheme. At this stage, Gojek will use 500 units of electric motors in South Jakarta, then, will further increase the scale of the trial with an initial target of utilization of up to 5.000 units of electric motors and the distance of using electric motors of 1 million kilometers on the Gojek platform.

The data from this trial will also be used to find the right combination of technology for electric vehicles that can meet the needs of Gojek driver partners and users, as well as the wider Indonesian market.

In this commercial trial, loyal Gojek users will be able to choose an electric motorbike when using the GoRide service with pick up and drop off areas in South Jakarta. Meanwhile, driver partners who use electric vehicles will continue to be part of other Gojek services such as GoFood, GoSend Instant, GoShop and GoMart.