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n Indonesian-made electric motorcycle is on its way to Kuta Beach in Bali on Saturday after a trial run of more than 1,000 kilometers increased optimism that this country’s products would be able to compete in the electric vehicle market in the coming years.

The electric motorcycle, named the Garansindo Electric Scooter ITS (Gesits), was made by students of the Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) and was scheduled to arrive in Bali on Saturday after running for 1,400 kilometers from Jakarta to Surabaya and then to Denpasar.

The Gesits has a 5-kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium ion battery that drives a 96-volt engine capable of running at 3,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and produce torque reaching 15 Newton meters (Nm).

The ITS Science and Technology Center’s automotive control systems director, Nur Yuniarto, who oversees the Gesits project, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the electric motorcycles were equal in ability to the many 150cc gasoline-fueled automatic scooters currently sold on the market.

With a selling price of Rp 19 million (US$1,406) per unit, Gesits is also superior in terms of energy consumption.

“If a regular motorcycle consume a liter of Pertamax fuel and is only able to cover a maximum distance of 60 kilometers, this motorcycle’s energy consumption is equivalent to a liter of the same fuel, but it can cover a distance of more than 100 kilometers,” he said on arrival in Surabaya after accompanying the Jakarta-Surabaya stage (900 kilometers) trial run.

During a test in pouring rain at the border between Central Java and East Java, the motorcycle did not encounter any problems with its electrical system.

The Gesits team would still find ways to shorten the three to four hours needed for the battery to be fully charged, Yuniarto said.

The team designed and tested the performance of two types of electric motorcycles, one using 3-kWh battery and the other a 5-kWh one.

Gesits Indonesia operational director Rahmat Septriwan from Garansindo, ITS’ partner for mass production, said after undergoing an initial series of tests, his company would still conduct a second series.

“This is not only ready for production, but is also safe for riders. The ITS team must meet UN and ISO standards,” Rahmat.

Garansindo has currently received as many as 22,000 orders consisting of 10,000 from the Bali Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 5,000 from state-owned telecommunications company Telekomunikasi Indonesia PT Telkom and the rest from private companies.

Garansindo expects it will only able to meet customer orders by 2018, when it plans to manufacture about 100,000 units annually.

On the same occasion, ITS rector Joni Hermana expressed his pride over the achievement.

“This is a special gift on ITS’ 56th anniversary because we are able to launch the innovative Gesits electric scooter product.

Separately, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, who had the opportunity to directly observe Gesits after giving a public lecture on the 56th anniversary celebration of ITS, said the government had a high appreciation for innovations by universities that benefit society at large.

“The government will definitely pay attention and play a role in this matter, particularly in terms of providing a budget for research and innovation because there is a cooperation scheme between universities and industry and the government,” said Mulyani.