The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2021–2025
MAKA Motors bets Indonesian-designed e-bikes can replace gas: $37.6M seed, 2025 push
Ex-Gojek duo bet Chinese CKD imports can't replace Indonesia's gas motorbikes; $37.6M seed, Openspace follow-on as subsidy decision hangs
MAKA Motors
What the business is
Designs and builds electric motorcycles in Indonesia (factory in Cikarang, West Java), selling to consumers and ride-hailing fleets
Starting capital：$37.6M seed (Jul 2023), co-led by AC Ventures, East Ventures and SV Investment; follow-on from Openspace (Jan 2025, amount undisclosed)
How it started
Founded in 2021 in Jakarta by ex-Gojek executives Raditya Wibowo and Arief Fadillah. Indonesia is the world's third-largest powered two-wheeler market with more than 127 million motorbikes, but EV penetration sat around 0.2%. Wibowo argued Chinese CKD imports were affordable yet could not replace the gas bikes Indonesians use daily.
What happened
In July 2023 MAKA raised a $37.6M seed round, one of Southeast Asia's largest, began street pilots and started building its West Java factory with mass production targeted for late 2024. In January 2025 Openspace Ventures invested again; MAKA planned five new Jakarta dealers, 19 outlets nationwide and 15,000 unit sales for 2025. Government purchase subsidies — Rp1.75T for 200,000 units in 2023, cut to Rp350B for 50,000 in 2024 — had no 2025 decision yet, which CEO Wibowo said made customers hold off buying.
How it ended up
Still live and expanding as of January 2025: MAKA had secured a second Openspace investment, was opening Jakarta dealers toward 19 outlets, and was targeting 15,000 units sold in 2025 while waiting on the government's subsidy decision.
Background
MAKA Motors was founded in 2021 by Raditya Wibowo and Arief Fadillah, two ex-Gojek executives who had spent years watching electric scooters fail Indonesian ride-hailing drivers. Their diagnosis: almost every EV two-wheeler on the market was a Chinese CKD import designed for Chinese users — too weak to overtake cars, too short on range, and unable to carry adult passengers, yet still pricier than a petrol bike.
The company's answer was to design its own motorcycle for Indonesian conditions and build it locally. In July 2023 it raised a $37.6 million seed round co-led by AC Ventures, SV Investment and East Ventures — one of Southeast Asia's largest — to fund R&D, street pilots and a factory in West Java. The pitch rested on a market math: 127 million motorbikes, roughly 0.2% electric penetration, and a government goal of 600,000 EVs by 2030.
By January 2025 MAKA had drawn a follow-on investment from Openspace Ventures and was scaling its distribution — five new Jakarta dealers and 19 outlets planned for the year, with a sales target of 15,000 units. The wildcard was policy: purchase subsidies had shrunk from Rp1.75 trillion for 200,000 units in 2023 to Rp350 billion for 50,000 units in 2024, and the 2025 decision was still pending. CEO Wibowo said the lack of certainty made consumers delay purchases.
MAKA deliberately did not build its plan around subsidies — Wibowo said the company started designing in 2022 with no subsidy in mind — but it still needed the government's announcement to unblock customer demand. The company remained live and expanding in early 2025, with its 15,000-unit sales bet still to be proven.
What has to be true
- The core bet was product-level: imports designed for China could not replace Indonesia's gas bikes, so a locally engineered EV was the unlock
- Founder credibility came from Gojek, where both had seen EV adoption fail against real driver needs — making the wedge research-driven rather than aspirational
- The capital stack was unusually strong for hardware: one of Southeast Asia's largest seed rounds plus a follow-on from a deep-pocketed regional VC
- The model still leaned on policy: subsidy cuts and the unresolved 2025 decision were enough to make consumers defer purchases, showing demand was partly manufactured by government
- Manufacturing, dealer coverage and price parity all had to land at once for the 15,000-unit target — any single failure point could stall the bet
What can be applied
Designing for local riders solves the adoption problem, but a hardware startup still lives or dies on factory output, dealer reach and subsidy policy — one swing in any of them moves demand overnight
Aftermath
As of mid-January 2025 MAKA had received a second investment from Openspace Ventures and was opening five Jakarta dealerships toward a planned 19 outlets, targeting 15,000 unit sales for 2025. The government had not yet decided whether to continue purchase subsidies after cutting the 2024 allocation, and CEO Raditya Wibowo said customer confidence depended on that announcement. No later delivery or sales figures were confirmed in the sources checked.
Sources
- With $37M seed round, Maka Motors begins EV pilot on Indonesia's streets
- MAKA Motors Kembali Peroleh Pendanaan dari Openspace Ventures
- Produsen Tunggu Kepastian Pemerintah Soal Subsidi Motor Listrik
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