Not Only Motorbikes And Cars, The Government Will Give Incentives To Purchase Electric Buses

Illustration of an electric bus belonging to Perum Damri. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said the government would provide incentives for the purchase of electric buses to support the national electric vehicle ecosystem.

"The electric bus will definitely get incentives, because this is a public vehicle that of course also concerns us," Agus said at the 2022 End of Year Press talks and the 2023 Industrial Outlook Seminar in Jakarta, Tuesday, December 27.

Even so, Agus said, the government has not clearly explained the amount of incentives for electric buses, including the scheme for providing subsidies for these vehicles.

However, as an illustration, the Minister of Industry said the average purchase price of one electric bus was around IDR 1.3 billion.

Discussions regarding the planned incentives for buying electric buses were carried out with various considerations.

This is because electric buses are usually purchased by corporate customers or local governments (Pemda) to be used as operational vehicles or public transportation.

This is different from the incentives for cars and electric motorcycles that are given directly to public consumers.

"Of course, different calculations are needed, because this is for the public interest," said Agus.

To be sure, in studying and determining the incentive policy, the Ministry of Industry also conducts benchmarking to countries that are already more advanced in the electric vehicle industry.

"If you ask how much the incentive is, we haven't determined yet, roughly not," concluded Agus.

Previously, the government planned to provide incentives for every purchase of electric vehicles, both cars and motorbikes, which are produced by companies that own factories in Indonesia.

This incentive is expected to provide various benefits for the development of the electric vehicle industry.

According to the plan, the incentives to be provided for the purchase of electric cars are around Rp. 80 million, and for hybrid-based electric cars around Rp. 40 million.

Meanwhile, for the type of two-wheeled vehicle, the government will provide incentives of around Rp. 8 million. Then, the conversion motorbike into an electric motorcycle gets an incentive of around Rp. 5 million.