Indonesian EV firm Maka Motors secured $37 M Seed funding from East Ventures, others
Two former Gojek executives co-founded Maka Motors, a two-wheeler electric vehicle startup, which has raised US $37.6 million for its seed funding round from AC Ventures, SV Investment, and East Ventures.
Other investors include Northstar Group, Provident, AlfaCorp, Skystar Capital, Peak XV Partners, Openspace Ventures, Shinhan Venture Investment, BEENEXT, Kinesys Group, M Venture Partners (MVP).
It’s noteworthy that the company was able to raise the money even though it’s still in the R&D phase. A hardware startup in Southeast Asia received one of its largest seed funding rounds, the company added.
Maka Motors hopes to strengthen its R&D capabilities and advance its EV production line with the new funding. It intends to roll out its first mass-market model in the second half of 2024 after launching its first batch of pilot vehicles this month.
“We are developing the product from scratch to cater to users in Indonesia based on our experience,” co-founder and CEO Raditya Wibowo said in an interview according to media reports.
In contrast to the majority of other two-wheeler EV companies, Wibowo continued, Maka Motors conducts its R&D locally and in-house, allowing it to reduce costs and exert better control over its supply chain.
According to the CEO, the company wants to create electric motorcycles that resemble conventional gasoline-powered vehicles in order to better serve Indonesian drivers. Additionally, he stated that the cost range of Maka Motors’ products “will be comparable to gasoline-powered motorcycles.”
Government statistics show that Indonesia had 125.3 million motorcycles in 2022, up 64% from the year before. More than 40,000 electric motorcycles were driving around the nation as of April 2023.
The Indonesian government has been active in offering subsidies and courting investors to promote EV adoption.
