Indonesia’s national car will be an electric vehicle, a government minister says.
Research and Technology Minister Muhammad Nasir says the government chose EVs as they are environmentally friendly.
Nasir also says Japan and South Korea are too far ahead in the technology of gasoline-powered cars in Asia to be able to compete with them.
“Only electric cars, not ones fueled with oil or other fuels,” he is quoted as saying by the government’s Antara news agency.
The national car project is in the midst of a yearlong evaluation and trial operation by the Technology Application and Study Agency and two state universities, the Indonesian University and the Bandung Institute of Technology.
“We expect to identify the weaknesses of the car's design by year’s end, following the evaluation and testing,” Nasir says.
Meantime, the Jakarta Post reports Malaysian national car company Proton and Adiperkasa Citra Lestari have signed a deal to research the possibility of a joint venture to produce an Indonesian car.
Nasir says this is not a government program, but that of the private sector. An Indonesia private company is free to seek cooperation with partners from any countries, he says.
Proton CEO Harith Abdullah says both nations will benefit by specifically working together to develop products for the larger market.
“Furthermore, Proton, which has the facilities, capabilities and technological know-how in design, development and manufacturing of cars, is the only company in the ASEAN region with a research and development facility in-house,” Harith says.
“No other countries in this region have their own national car project other than providing manufacturing and assembly services.”
Antara says the Proton project is expected to be a business-to-business collaboration with no involvement from either government.
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