Regarding Bringing Xpander Hybrid to Indonesia, Here's What Mitsubishi Says

JAKARTA - The hybrid market in Indonesia is growing rapidly and the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi is giving a signal to play in this segment.

President Director of Mitsubishi Motors Krama Yudha revealed that the company is very serious about working on hybrid vehicles. Plus, the government provides Sales Tax incentives on Government-borne Luxury Goods (PPnBM DTP) for hybrid cars of 3 percent.

"The government has also informed about incentives for hybrid vehicles, of course hybrid vehicles are becoming more attractive to the people of Indonesia," he said, when met in Jakarta, Wednesday, January 15.

Mitsubishi itself already has a hybrid car present in the Xpander model, which launched in Thailand earlier last year. Regarding its launch in Indonesia, Kurita did not elaborate in more detail.

"For the product, there is already an Xpander Hybrid in Thailand and each is waiting for the right time," he said.

For the Thai market itself, Mitsubishi Xpander HEV and Xpander Cross HEV are here, using hybrid technology called e:Motion. Both rely on new engines, 1,600 cc, which are accompanied by electric motorcycles and batteries.

This hybrid system consists of a power drive control unit, a 1,600 cc DOHC MIVEC 4-cylinder engine, generators, transaxles, electric motors and batteries.

The newly developed engine adopts a high expansion ratio cycle that produces 88.7 hp of power, while the torque is 134 Nm. Meanwhile, electric motors supplied with lithium-ion batteries have 114 hp and 255 Nm of torque.

Returning to the Indonesian automotive market, Kurita revealed that Mitsubishi needs to carry out sales strategies, including product differentiation, to deal with competition with automotive brands from China and Japan, and also equally important for full-sale services.

'Indeed, now there is no doubt that competition is not only with the Chinese brand, but also the Japanese brand is getting stronger. But Mitsubishi has a variety of line-up products that are quite popular with its customers and can meet market demand," he concluded.