Japanese car manufacturers seem less serious about selling electric cars in Indonesia. Apparently it happened because many Japanese car manufacturers did not want to make big changes in the automotive industry. Including the automotive industry in Indonesia.
Akshay Prasad, Manager of Arthur D Little (ADL) Southeast Asia, in presenting the ADL report entitled Unleashing Indonesia’s Electric Mobility Potential, Tuesday (1/8/2023) said that from the start Japanese car manufacturers had the view that they had a big responsibility in the automotive industry. .
So they don’t necessarily change their core business from producing cars with conventional engines to electric cars. They want changes in the automotive industry to run naturally.
“They believe they have a responsibility to transform the automotive industry step by step. It’s just that the demands for decarbonization are currently very high. So like it or not, Japanese car manufacturers have to be aggressive,” said Akshay Prasad.
From there, he said it was not surprising that many Japanese car manufacturers now prefer to prioritize hybrid cars over electric cars. This is considered logical because hybrid cars are the first step in educating people about electric cars.
“Japanese car manufacturers believe hybrid cars are needed in the future. I think this is also part of one of the ways to transition,” he said.
In a report made by ADL, Akshay Prasad said that Indonesia needs to work on the presence of local brands that focus on developing electric vehicles. This is considered better than just relying on the dominant brand which is currently mostly focused on cars with conventional engines.
He said local brands that focus on electric cars could be given incentives and other financial policies such as exemption from import duties on components and setting a higher minimum limit for investment.
According to him, this will actually trigger other brands or major electric car players to enter Indonesia.
“Unfortunately, Indonesia does not yet have local brands. Unlike India, which actually has local brands, such as Mahindra, Tata and Ola, which have developed electric vehicles,” explained Akshay Prasad.
