Vintage Vespas in Indonesia Go Electric

As the country pushes for more electric vehicles to combat air pollution, a company has converted and sold around 1,000 old Vespas since 2021

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JAKARTA – When Indonesian executive Heret Frasthio takes his antique 1957 VL Vespa for a ride, its white paint peeling off, his two-wheeler does not emit the usual fumes and hum of the free-spirited scooters around him.

His Vespa is just one of the vintage models converted by his company as it tries to turn a love for the Italian icon into an environment-friendly pursuit.

Indonesia has long suffered from air pollution partly driven by its addiction to inefficient old cars and scooters, including nearly one million Vespas as at 2022, according to the country's Vespa Club.

"Vespa has a unique design. It has a historical and nostalgic value. It's not just a vehicle, but it's also fashion," said Mr Frasthio, chief executive of Elders, which converts the older bikes into electric vehicles (EVs).

The country's leaders are pushing for more EVs on its roads, with a target of 13 million electric motorcycles by 2030 – ambitiously far from the current number of 160,000, according to transport ministry data.

But Elders is playing its part in what the government hopes will be the early stages of an EV revolution.