Jakarta. The first Indonesian-made electric motorcycle turned heads on the first day of the 2019 Telkomsel Indonesia International Motor Show at Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran on Thursday.

The electric scooter known as the Gesits and produced by Gesits Technologies Indo, has become one of the highlights of the country's largest auto show.  

Teams of engineers from several Indonesian universities have worked on its development since 2015 to end the dominant position in the local market of scooters with internal combustion engines. 

The Gesits has been available for pre-order as of Thursday.

"If you pre-order now at IIMS, you can expect your scooter to be delivered in June," said Harun Sjech, chief executive of Gesits. 

Japanese manufacturers Honda and Yamaha sell more than 5.8 million motorcycles in Indonesia every year but only recently introduced electric versions of their two-wheelers to local customers. 

Harun is confident that Gesits can carve out a niche in the local market. He said the company expects to sell 30,000 of these scooters by the end of this year, thanks to bulk orders from Telkom Indonesia, the country's largest telecommunications company, state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara and the Bali provincial government. 

Gesits Technologies, in cooperation with state-owned construction company Wika Industri & Konstruksi, has built a manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 50,000 scooters in Cileungsi, West Java.

IIMS 

Several new models by various manufacturers will be on display during this year's event, which ends on May 5. 

Participating car manufacturers include Chevrolet, Datsun, DFSK, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, Toyota, Wuling, Audi, BMW, Jeep, Mercedes-Benz, MINI and Volkswagen.

Motorcycle manufacturers include Aprilia, Benelli, BMW Motorrad, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Kymco, Lambretta, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Vespa, Royal Enfield, Suzuki and Triumph. 

Liliek Oetama, president director of show organizer Dyandra Media International, said the exhibition is expected to bring in more than 500,000 visitors and help brands book sales of more than Rp 4 trillion ($281 million). 

Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto expressed hope that this year's auto show will introduce more new technologies to the local automotive industry, especially electric vehicles.

The government has been providing a variety of incentives to boost production of electric vehicles in the country. The Indonesian Motorcycle Association (AISI) is targeting sales of 2.1 million electric motorcycles per year by 2025.