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Govt set to start ambitious electric car project next year

The government may appoint state-owned companies including PT Pindad and train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka) to take charge of the ambitious electric car project set to begin next year, a minister says

Linda Yulisman (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, May 30, 2012

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Govt set to start ambitious electric car project next year

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he government may appoint state-owned companies including PT Pindad and train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka) to take charge of the ambitious electric car project set to begin next year, a minister says.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said on Tuesday that currently, the government was producing several automotive prototypes, such as compact four-seater city cars, which were targeted to be finished in the next one or two months.

“I expect that we can start commercial production next year,” he told reporters, after speaking at a working meeting of the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association in Jakarta. Local producers might produce around 5,000 electric cars per year, Dahlan added.

The idea of producing a national electric car came up a few months ago, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested a team from prominent universities nationwide, including Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Surabaya Institute of Technology, the University of Indonesia and Gadjah Mada University, under the coordination of Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh and Research and Technology Minister Gusti M. Hatta to conduct an in-depth study on a national electric car.

Last Friday, Yudhoyono along with his ministers and top government officials, heard a presentation from the team and five innovators, backed by the state-owned enterprises minister, about the feasibility of Indonesia producing electric cars on its own.

The innovators, who Dahlan dubbed as “Pandawa Putra Petir” (The Sons of Thunder), are Dasep Ahmadi, Danet Suryatama, Ravi Desai, Mario Rivaldi and a scholar whose identity has not yet been released.

Dasep, a graduate of ITB with extensive experience in manufacturing and who chairs the Indonesian Machine and Tool Industry Association, is developing three electric car prototypes in his workshop in Bogor, West Java.

Dahlan said that state-owned enterprises could engage in joint-production agreements or manufacture the cars separately.

In the past, several state-owned enterprises were known for their track record in developing locally made cars. Aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia, for example, made the prototype a two-seater car named “Gang Car” (“alley” car), which was designed and to pass down narrow alleys in urban areas. The project was halted in 2003 due to financial problems.

Earlier, PT ITPN teamed up with British-based Rover and Australian-based Millard Design to develop the “Maleo” car, but the project was halted as the government shifted its focus to the
promotion of the “Timor”, which was designated to become the Indonesia’s national car, similar to Malaysia’s Proton.

Recently, PT Inka has been working on the development of a city car called “Gea” (a girl’s name in Indonesian), with a 650 cc engine, developed by the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT), that can travel at speeds up to 85 kilometers per hour. It is expected to be priced at between Rp 45 million (US$4,815) and Rp 50
million each.

Dahlan said that the national electric car project would cover the production of engines locally.

Apart from the plan, the Industry Ministry, along with domestic car manufacturers, is preparing a platform for “Mobnas”, an acronym for “national car”.

It is also planning to promote low-cost and environmentally friendly cars to cope with trends in the global automotive industry. The government has committed to provide incentives for hybrid and electric vehicles, the
specifics of which are still under discussion.

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