Infrastructure provision: The rush to roll out electric vehicles
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Penyediaan infrastruktur: Kejar tayang kendaraan listrik
6 February 2023
By Anitana W. Puspa and Rinaldi M. Azka
It did not take long for Zefra, 30, to decide to purchase an electric car. In October 2022, the private employee purchased his first electric vehicle.
His decision to purchase an electric vehicle is based on his need of another car due to the odd-even policy in Jakarta.
At the time, he was thinking of a way to travel with odd and even license plates without feeling guilty of polluting the air.
He started to compare the types of electric cars in the market in accordance with his needs. Zefra feels that the travel distance of his electric car is quite satisfactory. With a full capacity, his electric car can be used to travel 250 km.
At the time of purchase, he received tax relief. However, the price of an electric car is still more expensive than the tax that he paid for, so, overall, the price is still high.
After using it for more than 4 months, the biggest challenge of owning an electric vehicle, especially for those who live in an apartment, is charging after use.
He reckoned that there were not many apartments in Jakarta that provide a charging system. So, he often needs to leave the apartment to charge. A full charge takes around 10 hours.
However, compared to petrol cars, he feels that he is saving a lot of money.
“Just plug it in to charge the electric vehicle. The entry point can also be decreased,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suci Madusari, 41, a clothing entrepreneur in Solo in Central Java has a different experience. Almost 1 year ago, she purchased an electric motorcycle on top of her conventional automatic motorcycle.
In terms of fuel purchase, she said that she spent less compared to conventional vehicles. With a full charge, the electric motorcycle can be used for 4-5 days. One of the issues that she faced was when her electric motorcycle had a flat tyre.
Unlike conventional motorcycles that can go to a general repair shop, her electric motorcycle needed to wait for a replacement from a dealer for almost 2 weeks.
“Regular repair shops do not want to take it apart. There is a motor near the wheel. So, I needed to wait for the dealer for around 2 weeks,” Suci said.
Zefra and Suci represent the public that are now starting to be interested in electric vehicles.
Recently, the trend of using electric vehicles, both motorcycles and cars, is increasing. This can be seen from electric car sales in the last 3 years.
The combined data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) recorded that electric vehicle wholesales, including electric and hybrid vehicles as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), until 2022 reached 15,437 units.
That number increased compared to the sales number in 2021 that reached 3,193 units.
Full electric vehicles in 2022 increased by 14 times from 685 units in 2021.
Meanwhile, the number of electric motorcycles until the middle of last year was predicted to approach 20,000 units.
During this electric vehicle trend, the number of public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLUs) in Indonesia has reached 346 units at 295 locations.
SPKLU development is not as massive as petrol stations that have reached villages. Most SPKLUs that have been built are the social responsibility of corporations.
This means that there are not many investors who are interested in investing in the downstream side to support electric vehicle development. On average, investments in the electric vehicle business are still in the upstream industry as producers or product providers.
The government has an infrastructure development scheme to support electric vehicles through SPKLU construction, home charging strengthening, and public electric vehicle battery swapping station (SPBKLU) preparation.
Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) President Director Toto Nugroho said that battery charging infrastructure provision was one of the challenges in electric vehicle ecosystem development.
“However, education to the people who have been using combustion engines for dozens of years so that they want to use electric vehicles is also important,“ he said to answer Bisnis’ question on Friday (3/2).
Hence, he said that the government with various parties with interest in electric vehicles needed to build the people’s perspective regarding the benefits of using electric vehicles.
Regarding electric vehicle players, Electric Vehicle Association (Aismoli) Chairperson Wilson Teoh said that the interest of the people in using electric vehicles kept growing, which could be seen from sales and production.
Aismoli is a two-wheel and three-wheel electric vehicle producers association that was established last year. It currently has 10 members.
According to Wilson, there are many new players that are adjusting to the electric vehicle demand of the people.
“Old players are also continuing to innovate their products. This can also be proof that the electric vehicle sector will be a promising sector in the future,” he said to Bisnis on Wednesday (1/2).
