TVS Motor Company is exploring an expansion of its manufacturing presence in Indonesia that could include the development of electric and ethanol-powered motorcycles, following a meeting between the Indian two-wheeler manufacturer and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
TVS executives, including the company’s CEO, met Prabowo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on September 17, 2026. The discussions covered plans to expand the company’s factory in Indonesia and explore new vehicle technologies based on electricity and ethanol.
Indonesian Investment and Industrialisation Minister and BKPM head Rosan Roeslani said TVS already has an established manufacturing presence in the country, producing motorcycles, scooters and three-wheelers.
According to Rosan, the company now wants to expand its factory and broaden its product development beyond electric vehicles to include ethanol-fuelled motorcycles.
“Not only fuel for EVs, but they will also apply ethanol fuel,” Rosan said, according to reports on the meeting.
TVS Exploring Electric and Ethanol Vehicle Development
The discussions remain at the planning and potential cooperation stage, with no investment value disclosed in the statements following the meeting.
Rosan said the proposed cooperation would cover the development of electric motorcycles as well as motorcycles using ethanol-based fuels. Government research and higher-education teams are expected to be involved in the technology-development process.
The discussions come as Indonesia seeks to expand alternative-energy technologies in transportation while strengthening domestic manufacturing and investment.
For TVS, the proposed expansion would add another dimension to its existing electric-mobility activities in Indonesia. The company’s Indonesian product range currently includes the TVS iQube S electric motorcycle alongside conventional motorcycles and three-wheelers.
Karawang Factory Provides Existing Manufacturing Base
TVS operates an integrated manufacturing facility at the Surya Cipta industrial area in Karawang, West Java. The facility includes engine and vehicle production, testing and painting operations and has an installed capacity of 300,000 motorcycles per year, according to TVS.
The Indonesian operation serves as TVS Motor Company’s manufacturing hub for Southeast Asia. The company has maintained its presence in Indonesia since opening the Karawang factory in 2007.
An expansion could therefore build on an existing manufacturing platform rather than establish an entirely new production base.
Ethanol Adds Another Pathway to Lower-Carbon Mobility
TVS has previously identified ethanol-compatible vehicles as part of its broader alternative-fuel strategy.
The company’s sustainability disclosures have referred to vehicles compatible with E20 and E40 fuel blends and identified electric vehicles and cleaner-fuel vehicles as areas of opportunity in the transition towards lower-carbon mobility.
TVS has also previously demonstrated flex-fuel technology. Its corporate disclosures have referenced an E100-compatible Apache motorcycle, while earlier sustainability reporting documented development of vehicles capable of using higher ethanol blends.
The latest Indonesia discussions therefore extend an existing technology direction rather than representing the company’s first exploration of ethanol-compatible two-wheelers.
Indonesia’s Ethanol Push Creates a Potential Market Context
The proposed development comes as Indonesia is discussing greater use of ethanol in its transport-fuel system.
Reporting following the TVS meeting said Indonesian authorities were also examining an E20 fuel target, with the government discussing domestic feedstock and processing capacity.
For motorcycle manufacturers, wider adoption of ethanol-blended petrol could create demand for vehicles designed or certified to operate with higher ethanol concentrations. However, the specific ethanol blend capability, technical specifications and commercial launch timetable for any future TVS model in Indonesia have not been announced.
TVS Expansion Remains at Planning Stage
The September 17 meeting was described by Rosan as a courtesy visit involving TVS’s principal leadership and CEO, during which the company’s expansion plans and possible cooperation with the Indonesian government were discussed.
No specific investment amount, production target, construction schedule or launch date for ethanol-powered motorcycles was disclosed in the statements reviewed.
The immediate significance of the proposal is therefore its potential to combine TVS’s existing Indonesian manufacturing platform with two alternative mobility pathways—electric motorcycles and ethanol-fuelled motorcycles—as Indonesia develops its low-carbon transport ecosystem.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
TVS’s Indonesia expansion discussions highlight how ethanol could become part of the two-wheeler industry’s response to transport decarbonisation alongside electrification. Unlike battery-electric motorcycles, ethanol-compatible vehicles can build on existing internal-combustion technology and fuel-distribution infrastructure, although their environmental and economic benefits depend on the ethanol blend, feedstock sustainability and vehicle efficiency.
For Indonesia’s biofuel sector, the development is significant because greater availability of ethanol-compatible motorcycles could create an additional transport-fuel market if higher ethanol blends are adopted. The immediate proposal remains at an exploratory stage, however, and its eventual impact will depend on investment decisions, technology development, fuel policy and the commercial rollout of compatible vehicles.
