The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is currently revising the regulations on electric vehicles to facilitate the establishment of charging stations and reduce charging costs.

Acknowledging the relatively high costs in the supporting industry of the EV ecosystem, Energy Minister Arifin Tasrif emphasized the importance of considering the long-term savings that can be attained by adopting EVs. He urged the public to recognize the potential cost reductions and benefits that come with using EVs.

“For example, with electric motorcycles, riders can save at least 70 percent of their energy costs per day compared to using 1 liter of fuel per day,” Arifin said on Tuesday (6/6), as quoted by Jakarta Globe.

Equipping the EV industry with supporting infrastructure

According to Minister Arifin, it is crucial to equip the EV industry with battery suppliers, workshops, and charging stations.

Therefore, the ministry has established regulations and a roadmap for EVs and its charging infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the establishment of workshops for the conversion of traditional fuel-powered vehicles to EVs is expected to drive the expansion of MSMEs, thereby invigorating the economic sector.

The government is also actively facilitating licensing for domestic EVs and charging station operators to support the EV ecosystem.

Energy Ministry’s integrated app for charging station management

The Energy Ministry is also currently developing an integrated application that will serve as a monitoring and evaluation tool for charging stations.

This platform will also function as an information hub for EV users to find out the locations of charging stations based on connector types and battery availability.

In the future, this application will be beneficial for EV users, as they will no longer be required to possess multiple applications from different charging station operators. On the other hand, charging station operators will no longer need to invest resources in constructing their individual application systems.

“With the implementation of these measures, it is expected that investments related to the EV ecosystem in Indonesia will grow,” Arifin said.

EV landscape in Indonesia: sales, incentives, and charging stations development

Indonesia is committed to producing 13 million electric motorbikes and 2.2 million electric cars by 2030.

An energy analyst at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Putra Adhiguna said electric motorcycle sales had risen by 191 percent from around 12,000 units in 2021 to 35,000 last year.

Yet, Indonesia would need a continuous annual growth rate of 60 to 70 percent each year until 2030 to achieve 1.9 million electric motorcycle sales, Putra explained.

To resolve the high-cost issue, the government is already offering financial incentives worth IDR 7 trillion to buyers for the purchase of 800,000 new electric motorcycles and the conversion of 200,000 conventional motorcycles to electric motorcycles for the 2023-2024 period.

Not only that, but the government has also made a decision to grant exemptions on two local taxes namely the vehicle tax (PKB) and vehicle ownership transfer fee (BBNKB) for EV.

As of November 17, 2022, the Energy Ministry data shows that Indonesia had 439 charging stations in 328 locations and 961 battery swap stations in 961 locations spread across the country. Most of them are located in Java.

Currently, EV users can use mobile applications such as PLN’s Charge.IN or privately owned EVCuzz to accurately locate charging stations.