Clear regulations have yet to be issued for electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), including on tax incentives and standardization.

Indonesia also still has much work to do to provide a support infrastructure, including installing charging stations for electric vehicles and making sure the country has an adequate power supply.

Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) chairman Jongkie Sugiarto said the development of electric vehicles would depend heavily on tax regulations and infrastructure readiness.

“People will be interested in purchasing electric vehicles if the price is affordable and they have a low tax duty. If the regulation and tax have been set lower, more people will be interested in using electric vehicles,” he said Thursday on the sidelines of a seminar on electric vehicle development in Indonesia during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS).

For industry players alone, it is difficult to take the next step when the regulation is not ready yet.

Harjanto, the Industry Ministry’s director general for metal, machinery, transportation equipment and electronic industries, said the future policy pattern that would be used to attract more people to use LCEVs, would be oriented toward tax incentives and nonfiscal incentives.

The government has come up with at least two possible incentives, namely tax holidays and a luxury goods tax cut for low emissions vehicles. However, it is now still in discussions with the Finance Ministry and its sub-agency the Fiscal Policy Office (BKF).

Infrastructure-wise, Jongkie said, the availability of charging stations in strategic locations was an issue that needed to be addressed. He also encouraged the government to involve other stakeholders, as providing proper charging stations for electric vehicles was not an easy task.

Several government agencies and state-owned enterprises have started building their pilot charging station facilities, but the number is still limited.

The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), for example, plans to build its pilot charging stations in several strategic locations in Jakarta.

Recently, state-owned energy giant Pertamina just announced its cooperation with BMW Group Indonesia to build its Green Energy Station pilot project. State-owned electricity company PLN has also built its charging station facilities.

BMW, which has been selling its plug-in hybrid cars in Indonesia, said it was still hoping for a more supportive regulation that was beneficial to electric vehicle users in Indonesia.

Jodie O’Tania, vice president of corporate communications for BMW Group Indonesia, said plug-in hybrid type cars were the most suitable for the local market as they were not fully electric but still used a conventional engine system.

According to Agus Purwadi, head of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) research team on electric vehicles, Indonesia’s ability to provide a power supply should be noted. Today, only 6 percent of PLN’s customers are eligible to charge plug-in hybrid vehicles in their homes.

“To charge a plug-in hybrid, a household should have at least 2200 VA of power, and today the number of households eligible for that is still limited,” he said, adding that the households would also need additional personal safety precautions.

Agus also said that to accelerate the creation of regulations on electric vehicles, an integrated discussion between multisectoral government agencies and ministries should take place.

“What we see so far is that the discussion on regulation is still a sectoral discussion. All government institutions should sit together to address the issue,” he said.

The government has set a target to have 2.1 million electric motorcycles and 2,200 hybrid or electric cars on the road by 2025.

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