Hyundai Deploys 11 Electric Buses for Bali Public Transit Fleet
In this article (2)
Hyundai Motor delivered 11 County EV buses to Bali on October 22, introducing the resort island’s first electric public transit fleet.
The eight-metre buses carry 20 seats, run on 128 kWh battery packs and cover more than 200 kilometres on a single charge.
The fleet arrived under the Bali Sustainable Transportation System Official Development Assistance Project. The Global Green Growth Institute manages the programme alongside South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Indonesian government, having selected Hyundai through a tender floated in late 2025.
Local Assembly and Vehicle Architecture
Hyundai supplied the electric bus platforms. Local bodybuilder Laksana constructed the coachwork in Indonesia, pairing the domestic frame with a 150 kW motor.
Technical specifications indicate the vehicles produce over 30 per cent quicker acceleration between 50 and 80 km/h than equivalent diesel models. Hyundai has opened an on-site field quality monitoring room to track real-time powertrain performance, daily battery degradation and structural wear across the tourist island’s stop-and-start traffic routes.
Regional transit operators face steep technical tests when transitioning fleets in tropical leisure hubs. Air conditioning loads run continuously at peak capacity, which drains battery range far faster than standard municipal testing suggests. By retaining operational control through its on-site situation centre, Hyundai is underwriting service uptime directly while local maintenance technicians train on high-voltage battery architecture.
Commercial Expansion Beyond Java
The Bali contract duplicates Hyundai’s initial commercial transit test in East Java. The manufacturer handed over an identical batch of 11 County EV units to Surabaya in November 2024 to test fleet durability in dense city environments.
South Korean commercial vehicle makers are establishing fleet positions in Southeast Asia before Chinese rivals take every municipal transit tender. Hyundai is carving out mid-capacity shuttle routes through bilateral development finance and domestic coachbuilding tie-ups. This shields municipal buyers from heavy upfront capital expenditure while securing guaranteed parts inventories.
The procurement originates from a government memorandum signed between South Korea and Indonesia to decarbonise regional transport links across prime commercial centres. Indonesian officials, including Minister of National Development Planning Rachmat Pambudy and Bali Governor I Wayan Koster, took handover of the keys alongside South Korean Ambassador Soon-gu Yoon.
Hyundai plans to expand its electrified commercial vehicle network into Jakarta, Semarang and Medan as municipal transport boards prepare follow-up tenders for provincial commuter routes.