Kiat Esemkas to undergo emission tests in Serpong

A Kiat Esemka SUV and a double cabin pickup assembled by vocational senior high school students are scheduled to have emission tests at the Propulsion and Motor Thermodynamics Center (BTMP) in Serpong, South Tangerang.

The two cars will be dispatched from Surakarta on Feb. 24 separately.

The SUV will be driven by Surakarta Deputy Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo, while the pickup will be transported on a trailer and paraded from Surakarta, Central Java, to South Tangerang, Banten.

“I am ready to drive the car I have,” Rudyatmo, or Rudy as he is better known, said on Tuesday.

The students previously handed over one car to the mayor and one to the deputy mayor.

Separately, Surakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the two vehicles would be dispatched during
a cultural event on Feb. 24.

On their way to Tangerang, they will stop in a number of cities or regencies, including Semarang, Pekalongan and Tegal in Central Java and Cirebon and Bandung in West Java.

“We have seven requests to stop in particular regencies and municipalities, but are not sure we can honor all the requests, considering it would add days onto the journey to Tangerang,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi once suggested converting the Kiat Esemka from a gasoline-fueled vehicle to a gas-powered one, expressing belief that the conversion would not influence the business plan for the production of
the cars.

“Pertamina is heading in that direction to make it more environmentally friendly,” said Jokowi, referring to the state-owned oil and gas company.

The two cars are reportedly currently at the Kiat Motor workshop to adjust the headlights for more focus.

The workshop’s owner, Sukiyat, said the front of the cars would also be repainted.

On Thursday, the cars will undergo another test drive, this time at night to check the headlights. No route has been mapped out for the test drive, but they will probably head toward Pasuruan, East Java, and Tawangmangu in Karanganyar, Central Java.

He said he would accompany the cars to Tangerang and would take along seven others comprising mechanics and the students who assembled the cars.

The cars, which use 80 percent local components and 20 percent imported, have drawn interest, particularly from the government.

Trade Minister Gita Wiryawan has promised government support and is reportedly studying the advantages and shortcomings of the locally made car, especially the competitiveness of the proposed financing structure.