Jonan Says Vehicle Demand Has Decreased Compared to Previously

KatadataOTO – Ignasius Jonan, former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, reminded industry players that the world of transportation has changed. The younger generation now hopes to experience Work From Anywhere.

To get it, they are even willing to be paid slightly less than having to go to the office every day. This situation makes the need for vehicles smaller than in previous years.

“The era has changed, vehicle companies can't just sell technology but also a way of life. The current trend is extraordinary because they have different values from the previous generation,” said Jonan.

According to him, this situation will put pressure on the vehicle industry if it does not make changes. This is because the need for cars or motorcycles will be less in the future.

Photo : KatadataOTO

This condition is actually quite interesting because car sales are under a lot of pressure. Based on Gaikindo data, the automotive market has experienced a decline compared to the previous year.

Car wholesales in the first semester of 2025 were only 374,740 units, a decrease of 35,280 units (8.6 percent) compared to last year. At that time, shipments from factories to dealers amounted to 410,020 units.

Pressure was also felt in retail sales, which only recorded 390,467 units, whereas in the first semester of 2024, at least 432,453 cars were delivered to customers. This means there was a decrease of 41,986 units or 9.7 percent.

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Not only that, he also predicts that electric vehicles have many challenges to be optimal in Indonesia. This is because the vehicle infrastructure must be fulfilled to be accepted by the public.

“In my opinion, building as many EV charging stations as gas stations in Indonesia is a big challenge. This is because in 2016 alone, out of 7,500 sub-districts, 1,500 did not have a gas station,” he said.

Whereas fuel oil is considered very important for the community, especially to meet mobility needs.

“Imagine, for decades of Indonesian independence, there are still thousands of sub-districts that do not have a gas station,” he added.

Photo : KatadataOTO

In addition, he also highlighted PLN's readiness in providing electricity evenly throughout Indonesia. This is because the power required during charging is not small.

“PLN as the electricity provider in Indonesia must also prepare itself because if there are millions of EVs charging simultaneously, how many megawatts must be provided?” he concluded.