Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has emphasized that the government will pursue subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) to foster a competitive investment climate in Indonesia. He said he is aware that many parties have questioned the size of subsidies for EVs in Indonesia.
"Other countries have done it. For example, Thailand has provided subsidies for electric cars amounting to Rp68 million," he informed at the commemoration of Constitution Day and the 78th anniversary of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Friday.
According to him, Indonesia needs to offer large subsidies for EVs to increase interest in investment. Therefore, the government will provide subsidies of around Rp7 million for electric motorcycles and around Rp70 million for electric cars. "If our subsidy value is under Thailand, all investment will go there not Indonesia. This is a world where competition is very tight," he explained.
Jokowi emphasized that in the current era of intense competition, Indonesia must be willing to compete with other countries in order to win. "We have to understand what other countries are doing and we have to be adaptive. If competitors make policy changes, we have to do it too, and our policies have to be even better than theirs," he said.
Based on the Information System for Providing Assistance for the Purchase of Two-Wheel Electric Vehicles (SISAPIRa), a quota of 198,791 electric motorbikes remained to be distributed as of July 27, 2023.
The government is targeting to sell 200 thousand electric motorbikes through the EV subsidy program this year. The government has also prepared a subsidy budget of Rp7 trillion for new electric motorbikes and conversions that will be valid for 2023–2024.
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The budget will be given to provide a subsidy of Rp7 million per unit for one million new electric motorbikes and conversions. The electric motorbikes conversion program has been implemented under Presidential Regulation Number 5 of 2020. The regulation aims to support the development of battery-based electric motor vehicles (KBLBB) to reduce fuel imports and support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including vehicle sound emissions. The conversion program has a target of converting six million units by 2030.
