Indonesia Ready to Become Major Player in Electric Vehicle Industry: Minister

DENPASAR, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Erick Thohir has reaffirmed the country's readiness to become a major player in the electric vehicle battery industry.

To achieve that, Erick has also ordered the state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to improve its services and change the business strategy.

“Alhamdulillah [Praise be to God], PLN is on the right track by participating in the BUMN consortium in collaboration with companies from Korea and China to produce electric vehicle battery,” Erick said in a statement on Saturday, January 2.

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“Insya Allah [God willing] I will have a meeting with Tesla [the US automaker] in February to further discuss this cooperation,” he said during an event to test drive an electric vehicle in Bali.

“Apart from developing electric vehicles, PLN should also actively develop electric stoves to reduce imports of fuel,” he added.

The minister said there are several reasons why Indonesia would become a major player in the electric vehicle industry.

This is in line with President Joko Widodo’s mission to promote Indonesia to become a major player in the cutting edge industry, which is supported by its natural resources.

Also read: Indonesian Motor Buffs Turn Vintage Vespa into Electric Vehicle

Its biggest nickel resources support Indonesia to become one of the major producers of electric vehicles.

“The battery itself is a major component in the production of electric vehicles. Our natural resource wealth must be supported by high-quality manpower to become a major producer in the electric vehicle industry,” said Erick.

(Writer: Elsa Catriana | Editor: Erlangga Djumena)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/01/02/202000126/erick-thohir-tegaskan-indonesia-siap-jadi-pemain-utama-dalam-industri-mobil.