REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that by producing electric vehicle (EV) batteries domestically, the price of these vehicles could be reduced by up to 30 percent.

"I think there will be a reduction in EV prices of between 20 percent and 30 percent," Agus said, Jakarta, Thursday (Mar.28, 2024).

He said that the price of electric car components, especially batteries, is quite expensive. Batteries account for around 40-50 percent of the total price of an electric car.

Thus, by producing batteries domestically, the selling price of electric cars can be reduced.

Agus said that apart from being able to cut the selling price of electric cars, producing domestically produced batteries also increases the level of domestic components (TKDN). This can increase investors' interest in wanting to invest in Indonesia.

"If we have produced the batteries, the domestic industry has produced batteries, then our TKDN will be even higher, insha Allah, it will actually attract investment," he said.

Previously, Agus said that the French car company, Renault, and the Vietnamese car company, VinFast, were ready to invest in Indonesia. The Ministry of Industry has held serious discussions with the two companies. They stated that they were committed to investing to improve the EV ecosystem in the country.

He said that building an electric car factory in the country was needed to achieve the vehicle market absorption target. Also so that Indonesia can compete in the international market. The domestic automotive industry is targeted to produce nine million units of two- and three-wheeled electric motorbikes and 600 thousand units of electric cars and buses.