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View all search resultsPrabowo pushes all-electric transport to cut import reliance
Indonesia has turned into a net importer of crude oil and fuels since early 2000s as output declined while demand kept rising, leaving Southeast Asia’s largest economy vulnerable to global price shocks.
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National stance: President Prabowo Subianto delivers a statement on March 9, 2026, saying that Indonesia’s foreign policy remains free, active and nonaligned while delivering remarks during the virtual inauguration of 218 bridges from his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau/Muchlis Jr)
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resident Prabowo Subianto is pushing for the country to shift entirely to electric, solar-powered vehicles across personal, public and commercial transport, as part of a broader plan to revive domestic industry and cut reliance on imports.
Speaking in a session with journalists and economists at his residence in Hambalang, West Java, Prabowo said the transition would cover not only cars and motorcycles, but also buses, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles such as tractors.
“I want everything to be electric,” he said in a YouTube broadcast on Thursday, warning that reliance on internal combustion engines would keep the country dependent on imported fuel.
Indonesia has become a net importer of crude oil and fuel since the early 2000s, as output declined while demand rose, leaving Southeast Asia’s largest economy vulnerable to global price shocks.
Nearly half of daily fuel demand is met through imports as consumption climbed to 232,417 kiloliters per day in 2025, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry data.
Prabowo also reiterated plans to mass-produce a so-called “national car” under a homegrown brand to curb reliance on imported vehicles, an idea he has championed since taking office in 2024 and tasked state-owned defense firm PT Pindad with developing.
“I want to build a car factory. Why are we just a market for other countries’ cars? Because it comes down to the will [to develop our own industry],” he said.
