Coordinating Minister Airlangga Inaugurates The Launch Of The First Production Of Wuling Air EV Made In Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto launched the Wulling EV Air, made in Indonesia. (photo: doc. ekon.go.id)

JAKARTA-The impressive economic growth in Q2-2022 with positive growth of 5.44%, was supported by the non-oil and gas processing industry sector which was able to grow by 4.33% (yoy) with a contribution of 16.01% to GDP. Overall, the manufacturing industry grew by 4.01% (yoy) with a contribution to GDP of 17.84%.

"The transportation equipment industry is one of the fastest growing industries and until Q2-2022 the transportation equipment industry was able to continue the recovery trend and grew 7.35% with a share of GDP of 1.36%," said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in his remarks at Wuling Air EV Premier Production Launch event at PT. SAIC General Motors Wuling (SGMW) Motor Indonesia Cikarang, West Java, Monday, August 8.

During this working visit, Coordinating Minister Airlangga officially opened the launch of the first production of the Wuling Air EV car made in Indonesia. The chairman of the Golkar Party also had the opportunity to visit the general assembly of the Wuling factory to see the process of making Wuling cars and then do a test drive driving a Wuling Air EV car.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto inspects the Wuling factory. (photo: ekon.go.id)

Based on Bloomberg data, the potential demand for Electric Vehicles (EV) in the world is estimated to continue to increase and reach around 55 million EV units by 2040. To seize this opportunity and at the same time support the agenda of the Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP21), Indonesia has issued Presidential Decree No. 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of Battery-Based Electric Motorized Vehicles (KBL-BB)/BEV for Road Transportation as well as accelerating the development of new renewable energy infrastructure and the development of the KBL-BB industrial ecosystem through the National Automotive Industry Roadmap and the KBL-BB Industrial Development Roadmap.

"Of course, with this launch, it is hoped that the Indonesian people can use battery vehicles or electric vehicles at affordable prices. With this EV car, it is hoped that it will create net zero emissions and with more cities using EVs, the level of environmental pollution will decrease," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

The government is optimistic that the industrial sector will be able to continue to grow. Indonesia's Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) expanded to 51.3 in July 2022, continuing an 11-month consecutive expansionary trend. The Business Activity Survey conducted by Bank Indonesia also shows that the Manufacturing Industry sector in Q3-2022 is expected to continue to grow again.

"I hope that PT SGMW, which has only been established for about 7 years in Indonesia, can become a leading EV producer throughout Indonesia. With an investment of USD 1 billion, 10,000 employees, and an area of 60 hectares, this is also one of Indonesia's automotive export bases, "said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

The Wuling Air EV product, which was launched for the first time on this occasion, is the latest KBL-BB launch developed by Wuling. This product has also been confirmed as the official vehicle for the upcoming G20 Summit in Bali.

The government appreciates the cooperation commitment of PT SGMW which continues to support the successful implementation of the G20 Summit with the best quality products and services, and jointly demonstrates Indonesia's efforts in implementing energy savings, emission reduction, green environmental protection, and the future development of the Indonesian automotive industry.

The event was also attended by the Minister of Industry, Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia, Special Staff to the President, President Director of PT PLN, Acting Regent of Bekasi, and Director of Wulings Motor.