(Adds details)
JAKARTA, March 6 (Reuters) - Indonesia will provide
incentives to boost sales of electric vehicles (EVs) starting
March 20, as part of efforts to accelerate adoption and attract
investment from companies like Tesla, senior cabinet minister
Luhut Pandjaitan said on Monday.
The incentive programme will cover sales of 200,000 electric
motorcycles and 35,900 electric cars, said Industry Minister
Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. It will also cover the conversion of
50,000 combustion engine motorcycles, he added.
The two ministers, who spoke at a news conference, did not
disclose the budget set aside for the programme, but said 7
million rupiah ($457.82) will be disbursed to producers and
retailers for each new motorcycle sold and for each converted
into an electric bike.
Indonesia is keen to develop domestic EV production
facilities to take advantage of its rich nickel reserves, an
important material to produce batteries.
"We are finalising negotiations with two big global car
producers. We hope this new policy will make our position much
stronger than before," Luhut said without naming the companies.
"If we don't give (incentives), they will not come to
us," he added.
Asked about discussion with Tesla, Luhut said he plans
to talk with the U.S. carmaker in coming days.
Tesla announced last week it would build a new
"gigafactory"
in Mexico
, raising questions about whether it would invest in a
similar facility in Asia.
Luhut played down doubts and said the Mexico facility
would serve the North American market, adding he believed Tesla
has a separate commitment in Asia.
"Whether it would be Indonesia, we will see," he said.
Officials have been trying to attract investment from
electric car makers such as Tesla and China's BYD Auto.
South Korea's LG and Hyundai have
started construction
on plants to assemble batteries and electric cars in the
Southeast Asian country.
Agus said that companies eligible to join the incentive
programme are required to have a plant in Indonesia and meet
certain local content requirements.
($1 = 15,290.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, Fransiska Nangoy
Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
