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Gojek, Grab, Bluebird lead way for EV adoption in Indonesia
By replacing part of their fleets with electric vehicles, ride-hailing and taxi companies may create the critical mass in charging station demand to trigger widescale EV use in Indonesia.
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A Blue Bird driver charges a BYD car during the unveiling of the first electric taxi in Indonesia in Jakarta. The company operates around two dozen BYD vehicles and several Tesla Model X cars. (The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
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rivate-sector transportation companies have announced plans to put on the roads thousands of electric vehicles (EV), which could propel EV adoption in Indonesia by creating demand for a network of charging stations.
Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company senior expert Rahul Gupta said ride-hailing, taxi and feet services touched two of three factors that would boost EV adoption in Indonesia, namely higher consumer awareness and demand, as well as a decline in total cost of ownership (TCO).
“Firstly, they account for a significant number of vehicles running on the road, and there is a pull from consumers to adopt EV. Secondly, given the high average daily distance that ride-hailing and taxi drivers run, it helps improve the TCO competitiveness with internal combustion engine [ICE] vehicles, thus supporting the business case,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Gupta went on to say that, if companies collected data on their drivers’ journeys, that would make it easy for charging operators to decide on the location of fast charging or battery swap stations.
“Charging operators can optimize the inventory for battery swap stations, which is one of the biggest cost items,” he added.
Taxi provider Blue Bird and ride-hailing companies Gojek and Grab have all taken steps to roll out EV with trial runs as well as partnerships with EV manufacturers to provide electric motorbikes and cars for their drivers.
Homegrown ride-hailing company Gojek announced on Tuesday a partnership with Taiwan-based EV manufacturer Gogoro for a trial involving 250 electric two-wheelers and battery swap services from Gogoro at four gas stations in Jakarta.
