MAKA Motors Receives Initial Funding of IDR 564 Billion Led by AC Ventures, East Ventures, and SV Investment

Startup manufacturer of electric vehicles THEN Motors announced that it has secured seed funding of $37,6 million (over 564 billion Rupiah). Round led by AC Ventures, East Ventures, and SV Investment (investor from South Korea).

This acquisition is claimed to be the largest early-stage funding ever in Indonesia, as well as being the largest in Southeast Asia for the electric vehicle vertical. Previously title largest initial funding TipTip earned $10 million in 2022.

Other strategic investors participated in the round, including Northstar Group, Provident, AlfaCorp, Skystar Capital, Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia India and SEA), Openspace Ventures, Shinhan Ventures Investment, BEENEXT, Kinesys Group, and M Venture Partners.

This jumbo fund is planned to be used by the company to escalate its operations, expand R&D capabilities and facilities, and accelerate the production of innovative electric motorcycles.

This startup was founded in 2021 by Raditya Wibowo and Arief Fadillah with the ambition to accelerate the adoption of electric motorbikes in Indonesia by responding to unique market needs that have not been fully accommodated by existing players.

The company's vision is to provide an electric motorcycle that offers a mix of ride range, power, usability and durability at a competitive price compared to current bicycles, specifically meeting the demands of Indonesian riders.

MAKA Motors Founder & CEO Raditya Wibowo said, "We are pleased to partner with partners who understand and support this approach R&D-first and local. The move allowed the company to overcome the limitations faced by many of today's 2W EV (electric two-wheeled vehicle) companies who outsource their R&D and end up missing important user insights, control over the supply chain, and potential cost efficiencies.

“This significant funding not only validates our vision, but also accelerates our mission to exceed the expectations of Indonesian riders with our electric motorbikes. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of mileage, power, usability, durability and affordability in the realm of electric motorcycles," he explained, Thursday (20/7).

MAKA Motors Co-Founder & CTO Arief Fadillah also added, since the beginning the company has carried out rigorous internal R&D, recruiting the best team members with extensive experience working with leading automotive companies in Indonesia, Japan and Germany in collaboration with world-class technical partners and suppliers.

"Besides creating superior vehicles, we dream of building an extraordinary hardware engineering capability in Indonesia and bringing home our brilliant local talent to join us in our mission," he said.

Each investor representative also gave his statement in support of MAKA Motors' vision and mission. They agreed that the team's experience and in-depth research on this industry could support the growth of electric mobility, while reducing transportation carbon in Indonesia.

Market opportunity

Raditya said, this country is home to more than 127 million motorcycles, as well as the third largest global market for two-wheeled vehicles. Most of these vehicles rely on gasoline as their fuel source, with a small number of around 43.000 registered electric motorbikes.

Given the staggering annual sales of 6 to 8 million new two-wheelers, there is a huge opportunity for electrification in this segment. Not only contribute to the environment greener, but also helps Indonesian drivers reduce their daily expenses

Although the 2W EV industry in Indonesia is still in its infancy, many brands have introduced their own models while the government seeks to promote further support, including tax breaks and business assistance.

With potential and growing competition, the company prioritizes research and development. Investment disbursement has also been distributed to the team engineer and R&D capabilities to drive a strong commitment to innovation.

This dedication enables the company to produce superior products that outperform competitors, while ensuring an efficient cost structure due to adopting a vertically integrated value chain, through R&D, product design, assembly, and sales/after-sales services.

This approach differs from most automotive players which focus on assembly and sales/after-sales services.

MAKA Motors' first mass-market product is currently in development and scheduled for launch in 2024, with batch first pilot vehicle ready for use this month. Not only that, a factory will also be built located in West Java starting at the end of this year.

Currently, there are a number of local and foreign companies entering the electric vehicle industry, both for supply hardware nor . Some of them are ION Mobility, Charged Indonesia, Alva One, Energy Swap, Viar, Elvindo Rama, Selis E-Max, Honda PCX, as well as a local manufacturer whose motorbike the president has tried, namely Gesits.