Imported Electric Vehicles Are Making Local Industry Bleed.

KatadataOTO – Electric cars imported in Completely Built Up (CBU) condition are becoming more common in the Indonesian market. A number of products are able to attract domestic consumers.

Moreover, the government is preparing various stimuli that can be utilized. For example, incentives for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) from abroad.

This is claimed to be able to boost the electric car population in the country. It is a positive note for the nation.

However, this policy is seen as strengthening the dominance of imported products. And hindering the optimization of domestic car production.

Photo : KatadataOTO

“Currently, 63 percent of BEVs are imported, whereas in 2024 it was (only) 40 percent,” said Riyanto, an automotive observer and researcher at LPEM FEB UI in Jakarta recently.

Riyanto explained that the surge in the population of imported electric cars proves that Indonesia is increasingly dependent on products from abroad.

Meanwhile, the domestic automotive industry is still far from optimal. Thus, this situation has the potential to create a market imbalance.

This can automatically cause local producers to suffer losses. Their market share is being eroded by the presence of CBU EVs.

“In the future, if this continues, imported BEVs will eventually dominate. This means the installed capacity for domestic production will go unused,” he continued.

Of course, this is worrying, considering many manufacturers have invested quite heavily in Indonesia.

If the factory capacity does not run optimally, then the investment is at great risk of not providing returns as they had hoped.

“They invested heavily, and this also makes us (Indonesia) untrustworthy in terms of policy credibility,” said Riyanto.

Automotive Component Industry Cries Out

On the other hand, the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) noted that car industry utilization has decreased. From an initial 73 percent to only 55 percent.