Indonesia targets 20% of EVs in the overall car sales in 2025. (Photo: Shutterstock) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia may allocate 5 trillion rupiah (320.41 million USD) from this year’s budget to encourage people to buy electric vehicles (EV), a senior minister has said.
Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, said at a news conference held recently that authorities are detailing how much they could provide per sale based on budget allocation. The government is also considering subsidising electric bus sales, he said.
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo told the news conference that Indonesia hoped with these incentives, the electric motorcycle and electric car industry will grow.
According to Airlangga, Indonesia targets 20% of EVs in the overall car sales in 2025.
Companies that have invested or have announced planned investments in EV manufacturing in Indonesia include Toyota Motor Corp, Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Hyundai Motor Co.
SGMW Motor Indonesia, part of a joint venture among SAIC Motor Corp Ltd., General Motors Co. and Wuling Motors Holdings, has an EV assembly facility in the Southeast Asian country.
Indonesia has also tried to convince the US company Tesla to invest in the production of not only EV batteries but also electric cars in the country, Airlangga said.
Japanese brands currently dominate sales in the world’s fourth most populous nation, with Toyota as the market leader. More than 942,000 cars were sold in the country from January to November 2022.
Earlier, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said buyers could get a discount of 80 million rupiah for EVs made by firms with factories in the country, as well as other incentives for hybrid cars and electric motorcycles, adding that the government plans to offer subsidies to sellers to cover the costs./.
