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s a car enthusiast, I’d like to touch upon a piece about electric vehicles in this Jakarta Post issue and share it with readers. This is actually related to a statement by State-Owned Enterprise Minister, Dahlan Iskan, who mentioned last month his interest in producing electric vehicles. This is on the grounds that electric vehicles do not consume gasoline and are environmentally friendly. His statement was also supported by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Our country has long been using electric vehicles, such as forklifts that are operated in seaports, supermarkets for stacking large packages on high racks, mini electric golf carts, and even one in the Presidential Palace grounds in Jakarta.

Since the issue of global warming came about, a number of approaches have been taken to safeguard our earth and reduce pollution. Such mindsets are also applied in the automotive world. Not only have hybrid cars gained popularity, but so has the electric car. Hybrid cars use two sources of power, such as diesel or gasoline engines and electric motor, whereas electric cars completely use the battery for power.

The electric car is another vehicle for consumers who are concerned about the environment. It is said to be one of the solutions for the need to save our environment by reducing the use of regular cars, those which produce CO2, or green house gasses.

In 1898, Walter C. Baker established the Baker Motor Vehicle Company in Cleveland, Ohio, to manufacture electric automobiles. He built one of the most refined and desired American electric cars. It was popular, particularly with women because of its silence, ease of starting and driving.

Baker electric cars were introduced in 1900 at the first National Automobile Show held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. At the show, the Baker electric cars attracted a great deal of attention for its appearance and lightweight construction.

The Baker was best suited for use in and around town rather than rural touring because the batteries required recharging about every 50 miles. High speed driving or hill climbing required recharging even sooner.

The price of an electric car was higher than the price of the gasoline fuelled automobile. Since a long journey could not be guaranteed, even at a higher price, the Baker Motor Company discontinued production in 1916.

Modern electric cars are now available. Toyota has been working together with Tesla Motors (USA) to develop their new product, the RAV4 EV, powered by a lithium battery. Tesla Motors has gained popularity for its Tesla Roadster, a hybrid sports car with premium features. In addition to Toyota, Tesla is collaborating with Daimler AG to develop another electric car.

Another producer, General Motors, declared that they have made several modifications for their Chevrolet Equinox, changing the gasoline engine with a driveline powered by a lithium battery — believed to be the best environment-friendly car.

Nissan introduced the Nissan Leaf electric car in 2011. The Japanese automobile manufacturer has exported Nissan Leaf cars to the US and European countries. In 2013 Nissan Motor Company plans to produce the Nissan e-NV electric MINIVAN, a mini bus that can carry a number of passengers. It is called the Eco-Zero Emission car.

Other electric car producers, such as BMW with its ACTIVE-e car, Audi with its AUDI e-TRON, Volkswagen with its BLUE CAR, Mitsubishi with its iMIEV, Rolls Royce with its PHANTOM e-CAR, Renault with its TWIZY e-CAR, China with its BYD e6 Car, Ford with its FORD FOCUS e-CAR, as well as others, just to mention a few. They are competing to produce the most efficient and cost effective electric cars to attract more customers.

However, Ferrari CEO said in his late statement that he doesn’t rely on a one-hundred-percent electric car. Instead he prefers a hybrid car and has patented his own power design for his future Ferrari.

Indonesia has initiated producing electric cars beginning in 2009 with the design, 2010 for the prototype and 2011 for finalization and launch of the first electric car. The car has been developed by engineering students of Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java, and named SEMAR-T (Sebelas Maret Teknologi). It is powered by a 36-volt battery with 100 ampere producing 3 horse power (HP) for 1.5 to 2 hours use at a weight of around 300 kilograms. Recharging the battery takes 3 to 4 hours. The speed is between 30 and 40 kilometers per hour, which is quite suitable as a city car.

According to automotive experts, there are advantages and disadvantages of producing electric cars. Electric cars do not need tailpipe emission, have operations costs of just 2 US cents per mile, but require between 4 and 8 hours to recharge the battery and can only achieve less than 100 miles after being recharged.

Gasoline cars run up to 300 miles after refuelling, take just a few minutes to refuel, but produce very high levels of greenhouse gases at a cost of 12 US cents per mile.

Electric cars need lightweight body assembly, the massive availability of electric recharging stations (SPBU) and high skilled servicemen.

The key words to produce electric vehicles then are: Quality, infrastructure and top maintenance.

The writer, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, was the head of the Bilateral Cooperation Division, Mining and Energy Ministry until 2000.