Car Imports Hit Record High in July 2025, EVs Dominate

KatadataOTO – Car imports as Completely Built Up (CBU) reached their highest number this year in July 2025.

Based on data from the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), throughout July 2025, the number of car imports was 15,091 units.

Meanwhile, cumulatively for the January-July 2025 period, car imports into Indonesia stood at 76,755 units.

Many factors contributed to the increase in imports, but the implementation of incentives for imported electric cars is considered to be one of them.

Photo : BYD

Currently, newcomers like BYD who are enjoying these incentives have received a positive response from the public. 

While their factory facilities are still under construction, all electric car units sold in Indonesia are fully imported from China at competitive prices thanks to the subsidy program.

Looking in more detail, in July 2025, 2,082 units of the Denza D9 were imported. In the January-July period, the total was 7,892 units.

Meanwhile, BYD, which includes several models such as the Seal, Dolphin, and M6, accounted for 7,235 units in July, with a total of 20,795 units from January to July.

Overall, BYD imported 9,317 units or 61.73 percent of the total car imports in July 2025, making it the largest contributor and causing electric cars to dominate the import share.

“Currently, 63 percent of imports are Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), whereas in 2024 it was (only) 40 percent,” said Riyanto, an automotive observer and researcher at LPEM FEB UI, in Jakarta some time ago.

However, it should be noted that BYD is said to be soon starting local assembly of its vehicle lineup as part of its investment commitment, a requirement for recipients of the imported electric car incentives.

This Chinese brand is required to locally assemble the products offered in Indonesia in accordance with the number of units imported during the incentive program period.

If not, the paid bank guarantee will be forfeited. The price of BYD electric cars is likely to increase if not reduced by tax subsidies.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Meanwhile, in second place, the manufacturer with the most imports in July was Toyota with 2,335 units, followed by Mitsubishi with 1,191 units.

It should be noted that the incentive regulation for imported electric cars is stipulated in the Minister of Investment Regulation Number 6 of 2023 in conjunction with Number 1 of 2024. 

The regulation will be discontinued at the end of 2025. Therefore, all brands receiving subsidies, such as BYD, GAC Aion, and Citroen, must begin local assembly.