Jakarta show sees Chinese EVs gaining stronger ground in Indonesian market

Chinese electric vehicles are gaining a stronger foothold in the Indonesian market as Southeast Asia's largest economy is resolved to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the transportations sector.

Part of those vehicles come from manufacturing plants in Indonesia and the government is expecting a significant rise in such projects.

Moeldoko, general chairman of Indonesian Electric Vehicle Association (PERIKLINDO) who is also presidential chief of staff, launched the PERIKLINDO Electric Vehicle Show (PEVS) 2024, the largest of its kind ever held in Southeast Asia on Tuesday.

A total of 116 EV makers and EV supporting companies are taking part in the exhibition of EVs and EV supporting products at the Jakarta International Exhibition Expo (JIExpo) in the eastern part of the state capital.

Some world-class brands and others now popular in Indonesia made up the long list of the EVs on show in the exhibition.

Chinese brands form the majority of the electric cars at the show and they include those from EV giants like BYD, Chery, Neta, Seres and Wuling. Non-Chinese EV brands that are also being exhibited include BMW, Hyundai, MG and Tesla.

Saying that the expo aims to bridge the government and the automotive sector and connect automotive producers with vehicle buyers, Moeldoko said the event also serves as a way of socializing the public and educating people on the convenience of electric vehicles for their lifestyle.

"We need to make people understand from time to time (about EVs) so that there will no longer be misunderstandings that electric cars are like this and like that," Moeldoko, former chief of the Indonesian armed forces, said in the opening ceremony.

Daswar Marpaung, president director of Dyandra Promosindo which joined PERIKLINDO to organize the expo, said that at this time the government is preparing more new regulations on EV businesses and that his company is ready to give further support for their implementation. Dyandra Promosindo had joined PERIKLINDO to hold PEVS 2022 and PEVS 2023.

The government has set an ambitious target for the number of EVs in operation to reach 15 million by 2030, according to the coordinating ministry for investment and maritime affairs as quoted by Kompas.com. The 15 million vehicles include 2 million cars and 12 million motorcycles.

The ministry of industry said that by March of this year, in Indonesia there were four EV passenger car manufacturers, four electric bus producers and 54 companies that make motorcycles and other kinds of vehicles, as reported by VIVA.com.

BYD Indonesia on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Subang Smartpolitan, an industrial estate owner in Subang, West Java, to manufacture electric vehicles.

With annual capacity of 150,000 electric cars and total investment of more than $1 billion, the plant will start operation in 2026, BYD Motor Indonesia president director Eagle Zhao said at the signing ceremony.

Zhao said that the project would help push local automotive companies to supply electric vehicles for the global market.

After the signing ceremony, Zhao told the correspondent that his company had started from 2018 to penetrate the Indonesian market.

"So you can see our city buses, our taxis are already rolling (now in Indonesia)," he said.

Wang Peng, chief operating officer of Chery Sales Indonesia, told an audience after Tuesday's ceremony that they had so far received 3,600 orders for their Omoda E5 type that was launched in the local market in February of this year. The cars ordered are being assembled in a factory in Bekasi, West Java.

Wang told the correspondent that currently they have 40 dealers in operation in Jakarta and in other large cities like Bandung (W. Java), Surabaya (E. Java), Medanh (N. Sumatra) and Pontianak (W. Kalimantan).

"Sure, for us, Indonesia is a very prospective market," Wang said.

Mariati Dameria, vice principal of a privately-owned elementary school in Tangerang, on the western border of Jakarta, said that her Wuling EV car served her well.

"I have never faced any serious problem with my (Wuling) car since I bought it a couple of years ago. Most of all, with this car I can save more money," she said. She had spent more money for her previous car's fuel.

Dameria has formed a WA group of Wuling EV owners so as to exchange information about the performance of their cars. They like their car because they can refill its battery at charging stations that are becoming more and more available in Tangerang and in other areas.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.