Bamsoet Optimistic That Electric Cars In Indonesia Are Increasingly Favored

Chairman of the Indonesian Motorcycle Association (IMI) Bambang Soesatyo, together with the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan and the Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno/ Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) Bambang Soesatyo expressed optimism that electric cars will be increasingly favored by automotive lovers in Indonesia because it is in line with the government's program which continues to promote the migration program for fossil fuel cars (BBM) to electric vehicles.

According to Bambang Soesatyo, who is familiarly called Bamsoet, the development of electric vehicles in Indonesia is very promising.

"In the "road map" for the development of battery-based electric motor vehicles compiled by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the potential for electric motorcycles in 2030 is projected to reach 13 million units, while electric cars reach 2.2 million units," said Bamsoet, citing Antara. , Sunday, June 5th.

According to him, the potential for developing electric cars is getting faster, one of which is marked by the success of the Formula E electric car racing event, at the Jakarta International e-Prix Circuit, Ancil, Jakarta, on Saturday, June 4.

"The implementation of this electric car race is running safely and smoothly," he said again.

The head of the Law Enforcement, Defense and Security Relations Agency, KADIN Indonesia also expressed optimism that the implementation of electric car racing in the future will be increasingly popular.

According to him, President Joko Widodo has also issued regulations to accelerate the migration from fuel-fueled cars to electric vehicles.

The regulation is Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of the Battery-Based Electric Vehicle Program on August 12, 2019.

The chairman of the MPR RI explained that the use of electrical energy as a substitute for fuel would reduce fuel consumption and the burden of subsidies that must be borne by the state.

"During 2014-2019, the amount of fuel subsidies reached IDR 700 trillion. In the 2021 APBN, subsidies for certain types of fuel reached IDR 16.6 trillion," explained Bamsoet.

Bamsoet added, the use of electric vehicles is also a solution to reduce dependence on imported fuel. The need for crude oil for fuel is around 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), while Indonesia can only produce half of it, which is around 700 thousand bpd.

"The development of electric vehicles is at the same time maximizing the potential of battery raw material resources for electric vehicles," he said.

According to him, since 2018 Indonesia has been recognized as the world's nickel king and is believed to control nearly 30 percent or around 21 billion tons of world nickel reserves and resources.

Besides nickel, Indonesia is also rich in important component materials for the battery industry, including 1.2 billion tons of aluminum, 51 billion tons of copper and 43 billion tons of manganese.