Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, Gaikindo Complains That Automotive Industry Production Drops Only 700,000 Per Year

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The automotive industry is one of the economic sectors that has been hit hard by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is still allowed to operate during the implementation of the restriction on community activities (PPKM), there is still a decline in production of only 700 thousand per year from normal capacity.

General Chairman of Gaikindo Yohannes Nangoi said that of the 2.4 million vehicle production capacity, at normal times, 1.3 million to 1.4 million are used per year for domestic and export needs.

"But with the entry of this pandemic, the result is that the production carried out in Indonesia is very low. It only reaches 700 thousand to 800 thousand (per year) or about 30 percent of installed capacity," he said in a virtual discussion, Thursday, August 19.

However, he said, the existence of luxury goods sales tax incentives (PPnBM) for motorized vehicles made the automotive industry in Indonesia excited again and had an impact on increasing production.

"Automatically, the usage of the production capacity can be fully utilized," he said.

Moreover, said Yohannes, the policy for handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country is quite profitable for the automotive industry. This is because the government still allows automotive factories to continue operating despite the implementation of PPKM.

"If we look at countries like Thailand, it had time for the automotive industry to have to close its factories. But in Indonesia, we didn't close factories," he said.

Although still operating, Yohannes stressed that entrepreneurs still follow the rules set by the government through the Ministry of Industry.

"So, for example, the time is reduced, shifts are reduced, but we continue to carry out very strict health protocols. Automatically the industry will continue to run this way which is quite good for us," he said.