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Blue Bird looks to China’s BYD to build EV fleet
PT Blue Bird reportedly plans to procure the lion’s share of its future electric vehicle (EV) fleet from China’s BYD, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of EVs, after United States-based Tesla.
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ublicly listed PT Blue Bird reportedly plans to procure the lion’s share of its future electric vehicle (EV) fleet from China’s BYD, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of EVs, after United States-based Tesla.
Indonesia’s largest taxi operator said it would turn to BYD for 80 percent of its EV fleet while reviewing its Tesla orders, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Blue Bird plans to order 500 EVs this year, mostly from the Chinese company, whose E6 and T3 models are deemed a good fit for the Indonesian market.
“If the price is too high, it would be unreasonable for us to then pass it on to customers, so we need to consider this,” Blue Bird president director Sigit Djokosoetono told Bloomberg in an interview, adding: “We use a lot of imported BYD models as the price is supportive for us to operate in Indonesia.”
Read also: Luhut claims progress on Tesla as govt rolls out EV incentives
The government has pitched Indonesia as an investment destination for major EV manufacturers including BYD and Tesla.
Both companies have indicated interest in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, which is one of the leading producers of nickel, a key material for the production of EV batteries.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was on a visit to China on Wednesday, where his company has been expanding production. AFP reported that Musk was discussing with the Chinese industry minister about ways to develop “new energy vehicles”.
The government said in March that other EV producers from Europe and Japan had also expressed their interest in coming to Indonesia.
Indonesia’s PT VKTR Teknologi Mobilitas, a subsidiary of local conglomerate Bakrie and Brothers that has imported electric buses from BYD for Jakarta bus operator TransJakarta, announced earlier this week that it was keen to collaborate with BYD on the local assembly of EVs.
Read also: Bakrie Group's EVs arm eyes expansion of assembly line after IPO
VKTR also announced it was looking to raise Rp 1.1 trillion (US$73.47 million) in an initial public offering on June 16.
In addition, the government through the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister has been conducting talks with BYD on a potential investment in Indonesia, which it hopes may soon shed light on the Chinese-based EV manufacturer’s final decision on the country.
The government has announced a variety of EV incentives, hoping to boost the country’s EV adoption.
These take the form of value added tax (VAT) cuts for electric four-wheelers, exemption from luxury tax for EV cars and duty exemption for imports of unassembled EV parts, either fully or partially manufactured overseas.
The government has also earmarked Rp 7 trillion of subsidies to aid EV two-wheeler purchases for 2023 and 2024.
