Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, said the Indonesian government has designed a major strategy to develop the EV industry in the country, including creating an ecosystem for electric cars and electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, said that Indonesia has a very big opportunity to become an electric vehicle battery producer as this archipelagic country has the number one nickel reserves globally, namely about 30 percent of world reserves.

Jerry Sambuaga made the remarks in his speech at the Inbuyer Electric Vehicle (EV) Expo 2023 on Tuesday (Nov. 28) at the SMESCO (Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives building in Jakarta.

"With this potential, Indonesia has a huge opportunity to become a producer of EV batteries and lithium batteries for electric vehicles," the Deputy Minister of Trade said as quoted by the Indonesian Ministry of Trade website.

Jerry Sambuaga noted that the government has designed a major strategy to develop the EV industry in Indonesia, including creating an ecosystem for electric cars and electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

“The government has also provided incentives for consumers to encourage more people to buy electric cars. Some of these are Value Added Tax (VAT) discounts of up to 10 percent, Value Added Tax on Luxury Goods (PPnBM) of 0 percent, minimum down payment of 0 percent, and low interest rates for electric vehicles," he added.

He further said that at the last meeting in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo together with the Heads of ASEAN Member States agreed to commit to improving and supporting the realization of an electric vehicle ecosystem.

According to him, Indonesia is currently also asking for support from developed countries, such as China, Japan and Korea to provide assistance related to improving human resources and exchanging information in the hope that ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) would be able to become a strong EV industry.

“We must maintain electric vehicles and local products. The government's support for local products must be demonstrated and implemented," he added.

Those who attended the Expo included an expert staff member to Indonesia’s Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs, Rully Muryanto, and General Chairperson of the Indonesia Retail & Tenant Association (Hippindo) Budihardjo Iduansjah.

Budihardjo Iduansjah said that his party saw a big opportunity for electric motorbikes based on Presidential Regulation Number 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of the Battery Electric Vehicle Program for Public Transportation.

"The focus of this activity is efforts to accelerate fuel subsidies and business to business (B2B) matching facilities for central and regional governments through the procurement of EVs," Budihardjo noted.

Reporting by Indonesia Window