Singapore’s electric motorcycle makers pivot to Southeast Asia as domestic uptake stalls
Singapore’s electric motorcycle makers are shifting focus to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia after domestic demand stayed flat, with fewer than 500 units on the road.
Source: Channel NewsAsia · August 31, 2026 at 12:01 AM · AI-assisted report
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SINGAPORE, 31 AUGUST 2026 —
SINGAPORE’S ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE FIRMS SHIFT GEARS ABROAD AS DOMESTIC MARKET STALLS
Market Impact
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s push to electrify its motorcycle fleet has hit a roadblock at home, with just 433 electric motorcycles on its roads as of July—less than 0.2% of the total motorcycle population. In contrast, electric cars have surged to over 69,000 units, representing more than 10% of the car fleet.
Faced with limited battery capacity, high costs, and regulatory hurdles, local electric motorcycle startups are bypassing Singapore’s small market to target Southeast Asia’s larger two-wheeler economies, where motorcycles dominate urban mobility.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) acknowledged that electric motorcycle adoption remains in its early stages compared to four-wheelers, despite Singapore’s broader goal of achieving 100% cleaner-energy vehicles by 2040. The authority is “progressively encouraging the electrification of different vehicle segments, including motorcycles,” but industry players say the domestic ecosystem—particularly battery-swapping infrastructure—has proven too costly and time-consuming to scale.
Mo Batteries, which participated in Singapore’s 2022 battery-swap trial, deregistered last year after citing prohibitive regulatory and investment requirements.
Regional expansion becomes the priority With Singapore’s market proving too small, several firms are now focusing on Indonesia, home to an estimated 112–139 million motorcycles—85% of all motorised vehicles in the country. Kilats, an electric two-wheeler operator, launched in Indonesia in 2024 and has since deployed nearly 700 electric motorcycles for ride-hailing giant Grab in Bali and Bandung, supported by 44 battery-swapping stations.
Co-founders Vincent Yap and Sheldon Lee said the scale of Indonesia’s market made it the logical starting point.
Kilats plans to expand within Indonesia, enter Thailand by the end of 2024, and later move into Vietnam and the Philippines by 2027. Yap described Singapore not as a market but as a “springboard” for regional growth. “Using Singapore as the funding and brain-base allows companies to scale faster across the region, in terms of permits, partnerships and capital deployment,” he said.
“Singapore is our ‘mothership’ and investment holding vehicle where we plan to have direct shareholding interests in all operations overseas.”
Local firm Charged Asia, which generates all its current revenue from Indonesia, is eyeing Malaysia as its next expansion target. CEO Joel Chang said the company has already deployed over 5,000 motorcycles in Indonesia and aims to roll out more than 300,000 across the region in the coming years. Meanwhile, Leo Electric initially explored markets in Nigeria and the Middle East but faced infrastructure and geopolitical constraints.
Now, it is collaborating with Kilats to introduce a plug-in electric motorcycle in Singapore this year—one designed to utilise existing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure rather than battery-swapping stations.
Plug-in models gain traction over battery-swapping Both Kilats and Leo Electric have shifted away from battery-swapping in Singapore, citing technical and economic limitations. Sheldon Lee of Kilats explained that Singapore’s highway-heavy usage model demands higher-capacity batteries, which are impractical for swapping. “Singapore is a charging market, as electric two-wheelers need higher capacity batteries and motors to accommodate use on Singapore’s efficient road and highway infrastructure,” he said.
Frequent high-speed travel drains swappable batteries faster than fixed, in-built units, making plug-in charging the more viable option.
Transport economist Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences agreed, noting that most battery-swapping systems rely on small, hand-swappable batteries suited for short-distance deliveries—not long-haul commuting. “Where the usage model is within a neighbourhood for delivery, and so on, I would say there's no problem,” he said.
“But if you are talking about a courier going from Tuas to Changi multiple times a day, you can see that you have got to swap basically every couple of hours.”
Low ridership compounds the challenge. Terence Fan, an assistant professor at Singapore Management University, said innovations like battery-swapping require a critical mass of users to justify infrastructure investment. “For innovations like battery-swapping to work, we need to have a sufficient number of users to begin with—we don't seem to quite have that for motorcycles,” he said.
Leo Electric’s COO Nicholas Ng acknowledged that building a swapping network would take years, comparing it to the slow growth of plug-in charging points. The company is now developing a plug-in model for Singapore that will connect to existing EV charging stations.
While prices have not been finalised, Ng said the electric motorcycle will cost “slightly more” upfront than a comparable petrol bike but will offer long-term savings on fuel and maintenance, similar to the cost advantage of electric cars over petrol vehicles.
Business fleets seen as the gateway to consumer adoption
Industry leaders believe the path to mainstream adoption lies in business-to-business (B2B) sales—targeting logistics, last-mile delivery, and quick-commerce companies whose gig workers can immediately benefit from lower operating costs. Sheldon Lee of Kilats expects electric motorcycle firms to gain traction in the next two to three years by selling to corporate fleets, particularly those under pressure to meet sustainability targets.
“Hence it is the business-to-business model and experiencing the immediate cost savings that will be key to driving adoption in the near term,” he said. “With more electric two-wheelers on the road in use by businesses, the visibility of their use becomes apparent and hopefully will bring credibility and instil confidence in consumers.”
Charged Asia’s Joel Chang echoed this view, suggesting that government policies—such as emissions-based penalties for new petrol motorcycles and subsidies for electric ones—could accelerate adoption, mirroring the incentives that drove Singapore’s electric car market.
Malaysia emerges as a key market for regional players
With Singapore’s motorcycle population small but strategically significant, regional firms are eyeing Malaysia as a critical next step. Charged Asia’s Chang said the country’s growing urban congestion and strong two-wheeler culture make it a natural fit.
Leo Electric, meanwhile, is collaborating with Kilats to introduce a plug-in model in Singapore, signalling a potential regional rollout strategy that prioritises compatibility with standard EV charging points. This approach could ease concerns over range anxiety and infrastructure access, two major barriers to consumer adoption.
Outlook: A regional, not local, race to electrify two-wheelers
As Singapore’s electric motorcycle startups recalibrate their strategies, the broader Southeast Asian market—where motorcycles are the primary mode of transport—offers far greater scale and urgency for electrification. Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines present opportunities where battery-swapping and plug-in models can coexist, depending on local usage patterns and infrastructure.
For now, Singapore remains a hub for funding, innovation, and regulatory testing, even if its domestic market lags. The LTA’s ongoing efforts to encourage motorcycle electrification, combined with corporate demand for sustainable mobility solutions, may yet create a pathway for plug-in models to gain ground at home. But with regional expansion already underway, the real race to electrify Southeast Asia’s two-wheelers is being run on roads far beyond Singapore’s shores.
Related: Land Transport Authority (LTA)