Affordable Electric Cars Cannot Yet Replace the Role of LCGC in Indonesia

KatadataOTO – The presence of cheap electric cars with a price tag of around Rp 200 million has been a topic of discussion among various parties. This is because they are seen as having the potential to replace low-cost green cars (LCGC).

Especially now that LCGC prices have started to exceed Rp 200 million. On the other hand, electric car manufacturers are starting to bring in products priced at Rp 200 million and below.

Toyota, as one of the manufacturers that sells LCGCs, believes that the segment's position likely cannot be replaced by cheap electric cars yet.

There are several criteria that need to be met before cheap electric cars can be considered a replacement for LCGCs.

Photo : KatadataOTO

“Is the market growing or not? Because the goal of LCGC is to transition (people) from two-wheeled vehicles to four-wheeled ones,” said Resha Kusuma Atmaja, GM of Marketing and Planning at PT Toyota Astra Motor (TAM) in Tangerang, Thursday (31/07).

According to him, as long as the cheap electric cars in question cannot increase sales figures, they cannot be equated with LCGCs.

Furthermore, the adoption of electric cars is currently still limited to major cities like Jakarta.

This is because certain policies, such as the odd-even traffic rule, tend to attract consumers to electric cars. Electric vehicles (EVs) are exempt from this rule.

To assess whether electric cars can replace the role of LCGCs, Resha stated that it is necessary to observe in more detail for at least the next three months.

“If in the end, the (electric car buyers) are additional (buying a second vehicle and so on), you could say it's different from the LCGC market. We will monitor it together,” said Resha.

Photo : KatadataOTO

For context, LCGC prices currently start from around Rp 140 million. The most expensive is the Honda Brio Satya E CVT, which has already surpassed Rp 200 million.

Meanwhile, for electric cars, the Chinese automotive giant BYD has just released the BYD Atto 1 for around Rp 195 million for the lowest trim.

The BYD Atto 1 is touted as the cheapest electric car in the country, matching the Wuling Air ev, which was previously the EV with the lowest price tag in Indonesia.