Electric Car: How’s the development in Indonesia so far?

Electric cars have become new alternatives in some countries amid the high fuel prices and the increase of air pollution.

Electric cars are chosen as new alternatives because they do not use fossil fuel at all, but instead use electricity to power their engine.

This way, electric cars do not contribute to air pollution because their engine does not emit combustion gases.

Because of the said two advantages, electric cars have the possibility of becoming even more popular and of being developed into more various types.

Right now, electric cars are available as hatchbacks, city cars, sedans, SUVs, MPVs, commercial cars, and even supercars, which means right now the development can already focus in improving performance.

Another thing about electric cars is that they are not refueled using gasoline hoses like in gas stations, but they are recharged through plugs like other electronic appliances.

The cars can be recharged at home or electricity stations—the electric equivalent of gas stations—like those that are already available in Germany, the United States, and China.

The latest development shows the possibility that one day the recharging will be done wirelessly. Electric cars will only have to stand close to or on an inductive charging plate to recharge, without the need to plug in any cable.

And how’s the development in Indonesia? Electric cars are again a much-discussed topic here.

These cars have often been introduced and displayed in international automotive shows in Indonesia, and some have been put on sale.

Some Indonesian-made electric cars include the electric buses used in the Research and Technology Ministry and some universities. There are also electric cars made by university students. But all are only prototypes so far.

One obstacle faced is that electric cars in Indonesia are still expensive, because they are taxed as imported luxurious goods.

Other problems include the availability of spare parts and the readiness of infrastructure.

Indonesia is not the only country where price is a problem, because in other countries electric cars are also expensive due to their power-storing battery.

It’s been reported though that the Indonesian government is preparing a regulation that will relax the taxes for electric cars meant for the Indonesian market.

The government’s scheme to support the use of electric cars has been affirmed by the Indonesian president himself, Joko Widodo.

“We have to consider electric cars because everyone is heading to that direction. We don’t want other people to have developed their electric cars while we’re still confused and unprepared,” he said as cited by Kompas.com, July 30, 2017.

As for spare parts and infrastructure, they too will be covered in the regulation currently being deliberated by the government.

People are waiting for electric cars because they won’t need to be bothered by the issue of refueling their cars and the price of fuel.

But electric cars willstill be expensive, and so will the maintenance, something that we don’t need to worry about if we just rent cars.

It’s because when we rent cars from companies like Astra’s subsidiary TRAC (under Serasi Autoraya/SERA), customers can experience environmental-friendly and comfortable cars, available in various models.

Rent packages also cover fuel so, just like riding an electric car, renting a car from TRAC allows you to zoomsmoothly on the road.