Over its 51 years in Indonesia, Polytron has offered a wide range of electronics, from TVs and speakers to electric vehicles. So, is Polytron planning to return to the smartphone market in Indonesia?
Diantika, General Manager of Corporate Communications at Polytron, said the company hasn’t ruled out a comeback to the smartphone market, though she couldn’t confirm any such plans just yet.
“As for new products or new innovations, whether that will happen, we haven’t ruled it out, but we also can’t confirm anything right now. Just wait and see,” Diantika said during a product launch event in Jakarta on Friday (September 11, 2026).
A Brief Smartphone Run From 2011 to 2017
Polytron first entered Indonesia’s smartphone market in 2011. The company launched several smartphone models, including the Polytron Prime 5, Zap 5, and Prime 7 Pro. However, Polytron decided to exit Indonesia’s smartphone market in 2017 after struggling to compete.
Despite stepping away from smartphones, Polytron has remained consistent in launching personal gadgets. Last year, the company began selling its Luxia laptop lineup for the first time. In recent years, Polytron has also expanded into electric cars and motorcycles.
“Polytron is the only local brand that makes everything from rice cookers to cars. So technically, you could eat rice inside an EV,” Diantika joked.
More Than Just Expanding Product Categories
That said, Diantika emphasized this move isn’t just about broadening Polytron’s product lineup. She said Polytron currently ranks as the number one audio device and electric vehicle manufacturer in Indonesia, a testament to the quality of its products.
“We’ve sold 70,000 electric motorcycle units in Indonesia, and that’s just three years since the Fox R launched. Our TVs rank third in the market, and our washing machines rank fourth,” Diantika explained.
“So really, it’s not just about the lineup, not just about the categories or the quantity of products or product categories we’re adding, it’s about maintaining quality, because the strategy we hold onto is the ‘3 I’s: invention, innovation, improvement,” she concluded.