Electric motorcycles are being used by VIPs and in all-electric motorcades to escort delegates from the international community attending the annual G20 Summit.
The G20 is a global forum that includes 19 countries and the European Union, together representing the world’s 20 largest economies.
The main goals of the G20 Summit are to address issues with the global economy, including financial stability, climate change, and overall sustainability.
This year the G20 Summit is being held in Bali, Indonesia, where President Joko Widodo called for 100% of the government’s transportation used during the event to be electric vehicles.
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In addition to electric cars, several high profile electric two-wheeler companies have been called on to supply electric motorcycles and mopeds for use at the Summit. Companies including Zero Motorcycles, Energica, Gogoro and NIU have all provided fleets for official use.
Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (center) on a Gogoro electric scooter
A representative from Taiwanese battery swapping giant and electric scooter manufacturer Gogoro explained to Electrek that the company jointly deployed 30 Gogoro SmartScooters and a GoStation battery swap center along with Indonesian Partner Electrum.
The scooters each use a pair of Gogoro’s famous green and black swappable batteries, allowing officials to ride the scooters until the batteries are nearly empty, then swap in freshly charged batteries in seconds.
That allows the scooters to stay on the road continuously instead of needing to stop for a multi-hour charge.
The move was likely facilitated by Gogoro’s presence in the country via a Jakarta pilot with Gojek, with electrum being created as a Gojek joint venture.
Electric scooters are growing in popularity in Indonesia, a country that has wholly embraced the benefits of two-wheeled vehicles over larger four-wheeled cars and trucks.
In fact, Indonesia has set a goal of putting 2 million electric motorcycles and scooters on the country’s roads by 2025.
They are now 300 e-scooters closer thanks to NIU’s electric scooters are also being used by officials at the event. The company provided 300 GOVA series electric scooters to the Indonesian National Police for use at the summit.
NIU electric scooters ready for the G20 Summit
Ahead of the event, California-based Zero Motorcycles announced that it has provided a fleet of nearly 300 electric motorcycles to the Indonesian National Police and National Armed Forces.
According to CEO Harun Sjech of PT, Elektrick Motoriz Global, the Indonesian Zero importer:
Meeting the ambitious zero-emissions goals set by President Joko Widodo was made possible thanks to the excellent partnership with both Zero motorcycles and the Indonesian Government, both organizations that are highly motivated to be leaders in transitioning away from fossil fuels. We are extremely proud to have delivered all of these motorcycles and we look forward to building on our relationships with both Zero and the Indonesian government.
The fleet of nearly 300 motorcycles provided by Zero is mostly comprised of the Zero DSRP (Police) model, which is available exclusively to global fleet operators and authority forces.
Zero’s large delivery also includes SR/S and SR/F models that had been modified for tactical use by the Indonesian security apparatus.
As CEO of Zero Motorcycles Sam Paschel added:
We applaud President Widodo and the entire Indonesian Government for their clear vision, admirable climate leadership goals, and for the speed with which they sought to equip and train their staff for the G20 Summit. The G20 is an extremely important platform and being able to deliver a large fleet of reliable electric motorcycles for the event is a credit to our amazing team, and a benefit for the entire world.
Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer Energica also announced recently that it received an order of 88 Energica EsseEsse9+ electric motorcycles from the Indonesian National Police ahead of the G20 Summit.
Energica CEO Livia Cevolini underscored the importance of electric motorcycles leading the charge, saying:
When G20 delegates arrive in Bali, they will be welcomed and escorted by a security detail riding Energica bikes. That means their first experience will be seeing zero-emission, high-performance vehicles in action. My hope is that this experience sticks with each delegate throughout the summit and in all discussions around climate change and transportation.
Electric motorcycles outfitted for police use at global summits is a growing trend. The COP26 summit used a fleet of Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycles for official police patrol use.
Outside of flashy summits, electric motorcycles are finding homes in an increasing number of police departments and military units.
US police departments have turned to Zero Motorcycles for years, though low-cost electric motorcycles are now getting their turn in the police spotlights as well.
In some cases, US police departments have turned to high-power electric bicycles that border on electric motorbike performance.
Even conventional, low-power electric bicycles have proven popular with an increasing number of police departments looking to supplement their patrol cars with lighter electric two-wheelers that can penetrate deeper into city alleyways, community parks, and other areas normally off limits to larger police vehicles.
