JAKARTA : Indonesia will provide incentives to boost sales of electric vehicles 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 two ministers, who spoke at a news conference, did not disclose the budget set aside for the programme, but said 7 million rupiah will be disbursed to producers and retailers for each new motorcycle sold and for each converted into an electric bike. "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.Asked about discussion with Tesla, Luhut said he plans to talk with the U.S. carmaker in coming days.
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.Officials have been trying to attract investment from electric car makers such as Tesla and China's BYD Auto.