Not Electric Cars, Jonan Predicts PHEV Will Be the Future Mainstay

KatadataOTO – Ignasius Jonan, former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia, revealed that electric cars are not vehicles that will dominate the market for at least the next 25 years. According to him, there are still many challenges to overcome to reach that era.

The limited number of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations operating in Indonesia is the biggest challenge. Therefore, he believes that Plug-in Hybrid technology has greater potential than electric cars.

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

Even though fuel oil is considered very important for the public, especially to meet mobility needs.

Photo : Carnewschina

“Imagine, decades after Indonesia's independence, there are still thousands of sub-districts that don't have a gas station,” he added.

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

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

Not only that, electric car manufacturers have also recently started looking at PHEV as an option for their customers. This is because the vehicle's range can remain long while still being fuel-efficient.

They also don't need to charge in the middle of a trip and lose too much time.

“Even in Europe, when I talk to people there, they are still afraid to travel long distances. They worry that there will be no charging stations or that they will have to wait too long,” he added.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Nevertheless, he does not rule out the possibility that electric cars could develop in the future, it just will take a longer time to get there.

“It might happen in the next 20 or 25 years. But for now, the most viable technology to use is PHEV,” he asserted.