Electric motorbike batteries in Indonesia need to be standardized to make it easier for people to switch to electric vehicles.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, said that his party had received commitments from a number of companies producing electric motorbikes and electric motorbike batteries that were ready to carry out battery standardization.
“We are pushing for standardization of electric motorbike batteries. By standardizing electric batteries, for example standard dimensions of objects, we hope that there will be many investors who want to invest in electric batteries. Then from the consumer side, it will be easier for consumers to swap or shift, ” he said when met after the release of IKI November 2023 in Jakarta, Thursday (30/11/2023).
Febri said that with standardization, consumers will find it easier because electric motorbike battery components are uniform so they are easier to find on the market.
“So, for example, if you buy an electric motorbike A, and then when, for example, the battery wears out, then they can use the battery from another electric motorbike because it is already standardized. That means if it is standardized, it means the market is wider,” he said.
Febri also said that battery standardization is also expected to encourage domestic battery industry players to develop.
“If it is standardized, many people will want to produce it. So the batteries are standard, there are various brands,” he said as quoted by Antara.
Apart from the public’s mindset and battery standardization, Febri said another problem with the lack of public interest in switching to electric vehicles is the ecosystem, including limited recharging locations, as well as workshops or electric vehicle repair service facilities. “We feel that if many people use them, they want to join in.” “Yes, too. From the production side, we can do a lot, the problem is public demand which needs to be boosted,” he said. Therefore, Febri asked the industry to more intensively market the electric vehicle products they produce. He said that the government as a regulator had provided quite large incentives and assistance. “We hope that socialization will be carried out by motorbike manufacturers, they have advertising, they have to be more aggressive. We have given a subsidy of IDR 7 million. It’s already free advertising, it’s up to the producers. They have to convey it “The advantages of electric motorbikes are so that people are interested,” he added. Febri admitted that the subsidy program for purchasing electric motorbikes is unlikely to reach the target of 200 thousand units this year. Based on the Information System page for Providing Assistance for Purchasing Electric Two-Wheeled Vehicles (SISAPIRa), as of Thursday (30/11) at 20.00 WIB, there is still a quota of 184,680 units of discount assistance for purchasing electric motorbikes. A total of 4,148 units have been distributed, of which 4,552 units have been distributed. verified, and 6,620 are still in the registration process. “We see that it seems that we will not reach the target of 200,000 units,” he said.