Once Upon A Time Electric Car Problems

Ilustrasi (VOI / Raga Granada)

Welcome to join you again in VOI's signature Series. Until next Friday, we will explore various issues regarding electric cars. Indonesia has been so hot. How are the preparations? Here it is "Electric Car Charm Stings".

The government is again rolling out the discourse on the national electric car program. In order not to fall into the same hole, the government must learn from the failure of the electric car program in the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). Comprehensive and consistent policies are needed so that this ambition will no longer collapse.

The electric car program has been launched by SBY in 2014. However, due to inconsistency in government policies, the plan has not been realized until now. The ranks of SBY's assistants who are most passionate about pushing the idea of an electric car are Minister for State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Dahlan Iskan.

He made every effort for the smooth running of his program, including attracting Indonesian scientists who worked abroad. Putera Petir, Dahlan said, the team whose mission is to make electric cars made by the nation's children. They consist of Ricky Elson, a person who has become an expert in Japan, Dasep Ahmadi, and Danet Suryatama.

Because of his ambition, Dahlan is willing to spend personally to support the electric car project. For example, when they developed an electric sports car similar to a Ferrari named Tucuxi. Dahlan is willing to spend IDR 3 billion. Unfortunately, until Dahlan's post was finished, his electric car project stalled. He and some of his colleagues even stumbled over corruption.

Why did it fail?

On several occasions, Dahlan shared why the project, which had the potential to complement nationalism, collapsed in the middle of the road. The core problem that Dahlan is experiencing is none other than the bureaucracy of government licensing and regulations.

As summarized from Detik, Dahlan explained how complicated the bureaucratic process was regarding the trials at the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub). He said that when the electric cars of the Selo and Gedhis brands made by Ricky Elson were to be tested, there were many permits that had to be taken care of, while the process was complicated.

The governing regulations are unclear. This condition hinders the process of developing a national electric car ready for mass production.

The carcass of Tuxuci, who had an accident during a trial in 2013, is on display at the Museum of Transport, Batu, East Java (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In addition, cross-sectoral work is needed, such as the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Research and Technology, to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. But the fact is that it is difficult to materialize.

Dahlan did not get enough support from his colleagues in the government even though President SBY had already given the mandate. For example, the Ministry of Transportation did not issue eligibility certificates for Selo and Gendhis.

"Electric cars are very difficult, there are no regulations yet. Even though this is our chance to have a marathon with other countries because we both start," said Dahlan.

End up in jail

The national electric car developers under Dahlan have also stumbled into corruption cases. Dasep Ahmadi is a member of Putera Petir, who instead of showing off his work, instead he spends his days behind bars.

The Panel of Judges at the Corruption Crime Court sentenced Dasep to seven years in prison and a fine of Rp. 17 billion. He was proven to enrich himself and caused state losses of more than Rp.28 billion.

Dasep's background is a businessman who tries to produce electric cars made in Indonesia. This project is expected to revive the national car project that has long been suspended animation.

One of Dasep's works that has been introduced to the public is Evina or Electric Vehicle Indonesia. This car with five people equipped with a 20 kWh electric motor with lithium-ion battery power is a product created by PT SAP under Dasep's command.

The electric car case that ensnared Dasep began with the BUMN Ministry's request to state-owned companies to sponsor the procurement of 16 electric cars in April 2013. This car was made to support the operational activities of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference in Bali in October 2013.

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The three participating SOEs, among others, are PT BRI, PT PGN and PT Pertamina. The three combined disbursed approximately IDR 32 billion for the project. However, the car ordered later could not be used because it did not comply with the agreement.

The electric car assembled by PT SAP, under the care of Dasep, with the Ahmadi Type MPV Electric brand, was declared not roadworthy. The reason is, some parts don't work.

According to an investigation by the Attorney General's Office, there are several components of the electric car that do not comply with government regulations. For example, the main brake control is 620 Newton which exceeds the maximum limit of 500 Newton.

Then the questions about the results of the front wheel kincup test were considered to exceed the standard. And the AGO assessed that the electric car made by Dasep was not new, but the result of a modification of the Toyota Alphard car which had premium fuel and then converted it to electric fuel.

"We do our best, if there are still shortcomings, that's normal. But, if this is called a crime, I don't accept it," said Dasep at the 2016 Corruption Court, as quoted by Kompas.

Half got up

After five years of suspended animation, the electric car project started again. On August 8, 2019, President Joko Widodo signed Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of Battery Electric Vehicles for Road Transportation. This regulation officially opens opportunities for local manufacturers to design and build the domestic electric car industry.

This Presidential Regulation consists of 37 articles which not only regulate the production of these vehicles, but also individual ownership of vehicles that run on electric energy. It is hoped that this regulation can encourage the domestic automotive industry to move towards a more environmentally friendly direction.

President Joko Widodo (Source: State Secretariat)

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President Joko Widodo's government and his ministers must learn from these mistakes. Moreover, currently, as summarized by Tempo Magazine, there is investment certainty from LG Energy Solution Ltd, South Korea. In early January, this subsidiary of the LG Group conglomerate committed to invest US $ 9.8 billion or around Rp. 142 trillion to build an integrated lithium battery production center in Indonesia.

The electric car industry is indeed on the rise. Various world automotive factories are aggressively launching electric car products. In Indonesia, this year Toyota plans to overtake Hyundai, which since 2019 has started construction of a production facility worth more than Rp. 20 trillion in Cikarang, West Java.

Toyota electric car model (Source: Toyota Documentation)

Most recently, the government said it was waiting for the arrival of a delegation from Tesla Inc, the United States (US) electric car manufacturer which is claimed to intend to explore similar investments. Since President Jokowi launched the electric car acceleration program in August 2019, various policies have been prepared. The target is that the production of low-carbon emission vehicles (LCEV) can reach 20 percent of the projected production of 2 million four-wheeled units by 2025.

The question is, has the government patched the regulations that were hollow in the SBY era?

Unfortunately, according to transportation observer Tory Damantoro, if the objective is to produce original electric cars in the country, then that dream is still too far away. He even questioned the strategy to accelerate the development of electric cars as a whole. Because according to him, Perpres 55 2019 returns to the roadmap of the Ministry of Industry.

"Because in the industrial sector there is no change in the development of EV (electrical vehicles), which they use the existing roadmap. Where the agenda is not to jump directly to EVs with batteries, but to hybrids first," he told VOI.

Referring to Perpres 55 2019 article 4 paragraph 1, it is stated that the development of the domestic battery-based electric motor vehicle industry (KBL) as discussed in the forum for the Coordination Team for the acceleration of the Battery-Based KBL program, refers to the road map for the development of the national motor vehicle industry.

"The road map for the development of the national motor vehicle industry as referred to in paragraph 1 is stipulated by the minister who carries out government affairs in the industrial sector," it is written.

Therefore, Tory said that the development of this electric car depends on the agenda of Indonesia's industrial roadmap. "We already know whose agenda it is. The agenda that owns the factory."

Infographics (VOI / Raga Granada)

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Chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Tory Damantoro assessed that Presidential Decree 55 2019 did not address the regulatory and bureaucratic problems that caused Dahlan Iskan's electric car project to collapse. According to Tory, the plan put forward by the current government is different from that carried out by Dahlan.

Tory said, what Dahlan Iskan did was to support the development and research (R&D) of new technology. If that direction means the national electric car can only be called the nation's child.

However, according to Tory, because it was not clearly regulated, the project was accused of being a criminal. Both in terms of funding and use, they are all problematic.

"Have those issues been answered in Perpres 55? Right not. The Perpres only provides a legal basis for all parties involved to support the acceleration of EV development," said Tory.

However, Tory responded positively to the Presidential Regulation 55 2019. Because according to him, with this regulation, many electric cars can be ordered even if the manufacturer is from outside.

"I am happy with the existence of Perpress 55, starting with many types of EV vehicles that can be OTR, even though they are all foreign manufacturers. There is no domestic manufacturer," said Tory.

Follow the Writing of This Edition Series: Electric Car Charm Stings

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