Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand will see the budding transformation of its two-wheeler market with the introduction of electric motorbikes and scooters in a big way from 2023 onwards.
ACE Market-listed Sersol Bhd and Thai energy giant Takuni Group Public Company Ltd signed a joint venture agreement to manufacture, assemble and distribute electric 2Wheelers (2W) motorbikes and scooters across the three countries in anticipation of surging demand for greener mobility solutions.
The announcement follows their heads of agreement signing in late October this year indicating a commitment to invest in technology transfer in the electric vehicle segment for 2W motorbikes and scooters by incorporating a new JV company – Sersol-Takuni (ST).
ST plans to sell approximately 100,000 electric motorbikes and scooters annually across Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
“We are elated to have Takuni Group as a strong partner as they are energy kings in Thailand with expertise in building renewable energy infrastructure, in addition to driving expansion of its charging network for the EV industry,” said Sersol MD Justin Lim.
He also said ST will use their technological capabilities in battery technology to build a plant to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in the near future.
McKinsey predicts surging demand for batteries to grow by 30%, and the battery value chain to grow 10 times, with global revenue expected to rise to US$410 billion (RM1.81 trillion) by 2030.
“In Malaysia, the government strongly supports the battery electric vehicles (BEV) agenda and has the right incentives in place for producers to enjoy tax exemptions for imports, excise duty and sales for locally assembled models,” Lim added.
ST anticipates strong demand for their 2W electric motorbikes and scooters in Indonesia, which according to Businesswire, is predicted to grow by 20.96% to reach US$816.22 million (RM3.61 billion) by 2025.
As adoption of electric motorbikes and scooters has been burgeoning within the e-hailing and e-sharing sectors, the Indonesian government has placed generous incentives related to climate mitigation programmes to reduce greenhouse gas emission, Lim noted.
“Our market potential is enormous as Indonesia and Thailand, which are two of Asia’s four largest 2W electric motorbike and scooter markets, are anticipating exponential growth outside India and China,” he added.
Last week, Sersol-Takuni entered into a memorandum of understanding with China’s satellite giant, Chongqing Beidou Jiean Neo-Energy Technology Ltd to manufacture, assemble and distribute Colte 2W electric motorbikes and scooters in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
An investment holding company headquartered in Johor, Sersol is venturing into several new industries including aviation, e-vehicles, renewable energy, property development, healthcare, organic food and green technology.
Listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Takuni Group primarily engages in oil and gas trading and distribution business. It has set a vision to run a fully integrated business using eco-friendly technology.