Indonesia aims to produce 600,000 electric cars

JAKARTA: Indonesian Industry Ministry is targeting to produce 600,000 units of electric cars and 2.45 million units of battery-powered motorcycles by 2030.

This was geared towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions from cars by 2.7 million tonnes and from motorcycles by 1.1 million tonnes, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita was quoted as saying by Antara News agency on Wednesday .

At present, there are three domestic companies with facilities for manufacturing battery-powered electric vehicles that can produce 1,480 units a year combined, he said in a statement.

The government is providing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to consumers as well as manufacturers to push the production of battery-powered electric vehicles, he said.

“The automotive industry is one of the key sectors contributing significantly to the national economy.

“Right now, 21 four or more wheeled vehicle manufacturers are operating in Indonesia.”

Nearly 38,000 workers are employed by the automotive industry and more than 1.5 million people are employed along the value chain of the industry, Agus added.

“The production and wholesale of four or more wheeled vehicles in the January-February period reached 152,000 units and 102,000 units respectively,” he said.

To boost the sale of these locally-made, four-wheeled motor vehicles with an engine capacity of up to 1,500cc, the government has relaxed the governmentborne luxury sales tax from March 1 to Dec 31 this year.

“The reduction of local purchase under the first phase of the luxury sales tax relaxation programme will hopefully attract investors to increase investment for the supply chain in Indonesia and will benefit the public and the government,” the minister added.