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Our reporter Cao Shiyun

At the 2024 Indonesia International Auto Show, more than 10 Chinese auto companies including Wuling, Chery, Nezha, and Great Wall Motors unveiled a number of new products. The picture shows a new hybrid car displayed by Great Wall Motors. Photo by our reporter Cao Shiyun

The picture shows the iCAR 03, Chery Automobile's first pure electric off-road vehicle for the Indonesian market, which was released at this year's auto show. Photo by Aaron

From July 18 to 28, the 2024 Indonesia International Auto Show was held at the Indonesia Convention Center in Tangerang, Banten Province, Indonesia. The theme of this auto show is "The Combination of Innovation and Inspiration". There are 11 exhibition halls with an exhibition area of ​​120,000 square meters. More than 50 auto brands and more than 100 auto parts brands of the supporting industries participated in the exhibition. Johannes, chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association, said that he hopes to introduce the latest products of automakers from various countries to the Indonesian people through the auto show, and support and promote the development and transformation of Indonesia's automotive industry.

Green and low-carbon transportation is accelerating development

At the Indonesia Convention Center, the booths were crowded with visitors, and major automakers displayed their latest off-road vehicles, sedans, sports cars, SUVs, etc. Akbar, from Bogor, Indonesia, arrived at the auto show early in the morning. He heard that several new cars were released at the auto show, so he came to experience them. "I saw a lot of new products, including electric cars, electric trucks, electric campers... It shows the new trend of the development of the automotive industry," Akbar said.

In order to give visitors a better driving experience, the auto show has set up the largest test drive area since its opening. According to Lin Meng, project director of the auto show, the test drive area is about 2 kilometers long and provides visitors with more than 130 vehicles from 29 participating brands for test drives. The test drive area also has various scenes specially set up, such as a water barrier area for electric vehicles to test their waterproof performance.

The Pertamina booth displayed a variety of clean energy products, including low-carbon fuels that can be used for new energy vehicles, as well as green energy stations, electric vehicle charging stations, batteries, etc. Riva, president of Pertamina's commercial and trading business subsidiary, said that the company is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2060, and will support Indonesia's green energy transformation by minimizing the impact of the automotive and transportation industries on the environment through measures such as improving green energy efficiency and promoting green technology innovation and application.

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the auto show that the Indonesian government is committed to building an independent, resilient and sustainable national automotive industry, one of which is to accelerate the establishment of an electric vehicle ecosystem. "The government will continue to strengthen supervision and provide incentives to accelerate the development of the electric vehicle industry through the development of electric vehicles and battery manufacturing." He encouraged automotive industry professionals attending the auto show to expand cooperation between companies in renewable energy and automotive technology research and development. "This is very important for reducing carbon emissions and is conducive to promoting the economy in a greener and more sustainable direction." Ma'ruf said.

China and Indonesia have great potential for cooperation in electric vehicles

In the test drive area, Putu, a visitor who came all the way from the capital Jakarta, had just experienced a hybrid SUV. He told reporters that at the auto show, one can experience the latest models and advanced technologies up close, "especially the many electric vehicles brought by Chinese manufacturers, which showcase advanced design and technology and are very popular."

At this year's auto show, more than 10 Chinese auto companies, including Wuling, Chery, Nezha, and Great Wall, brought a number of new products to the show. BYD's booth was crowded with visitors, many of whom gathered around the newly released pure electric car M6 and asked for detailed information.

Wuling has launched a special edition of the Bingo electric car, which will be sold in limited quantities in Indonesia to celebrate the company's 7th anniversary in the Indonesian market. As of July 24, Wuling received a total of 948 orders at this auto show, a year-on-year increase of 45%, of which 719 were new energy orders, accounting for more than 75%. In the first half of this year, Wuling's share of the Indonesian new energy vehicle market reached 68.4%, continuing to maintain its leading position. Wang Weisen, deputy general manager of Wuling Indonesia Automobile Co., Ltd., said that in the future, Wuling will further enhance and expand the Indonesian market, continue to launch competitive new products, and radiate the Southeast Asian market.

In front of the Chery Automobile booth, an electric off-road vehicle attracted many visitors to experience it. This is the first electric off-road vehicle in the Indonesian market. The person in charge of the Chery booth told reporters that the company's first electric car launched in Indonesia, the Omenda E5, was very popular in the first half of this year. Qu Jizong, executive vice general manager of Chery Indonesia Branch, said that the company will deepen cooperation with local companies to develop more green and intelligent new models that meet the needs of the Indonesian market, while maintaining quality services and safeguarding the image of Chinese brands.

Chinese brands such as BAIC, JETOUR, and GAC Aion have also expressed their willingness to increase cooperation with Indonesia. Great Wall Motors exhibited two new hybrid vehicles that were assembled locally in Indonesia for the first time; JETOUR plans to launch electric vehicles in Indonesia by the end of this year; BAIC Group plans to invest more than 1 trillion rupiah (1 RMB is approximately 2,247 rupiah) in the next five years to build a local factory, and will start assembling cars in a local factory early next year...

Indonesian Ambassador to China Zhou Haoli said at the auto show that he was very happy to see more and more Chinese electric vehicle brands appearing in Indonesia. The cooperation between the two countries in the field of electric vehicles meets the needs of Indonesia's green development. He hopes that the two countries' enterprises will further deepen cooperation in the future. Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartato said that Chinese electric vehicle brands have brought benefits to the Indonesian auto market and are conducive to enhancing the competitiveness of the Indonesian auto market.

Chinese automakers increase investment in Southeast Asian market

A recent report by Ernst & Young, an international strategic consulting firm, believes that the electric vehicle market in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore will see significant growth, and it is expected that the total sales of electric vehicles in these countries will increase from US$2 billion in 2021 to US$80 billion to US$100 billion by 2035. In recent years, Chinese auto companies have actively explored the Southeast Asian market and strengthened industrial chain cooperation with various countries to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

Chinese electric vehicles have achieved good sales results in the Southeast Asian market. In the first half of this year, Indonesia's electric vehicle sales reached nearly 12,000 units, and the top five brands were all from China. According to statistics from the Thai Automobile Association, in 2023, the total registration of electric vehicles in Thailand will be about 76,000, accounting for 12% of the total vehicle registrations, of which the top four are all Chinese brands, and 8 of the top ten are Chinese brands. In Cambodia, BYD has become one of the most popular electric vehicle brands. Qu Jizong said that in recent years, Chinese electric vehicles have continued to sell well in the Southeast Asian market, not only contributing to energy conservation and carbon reduction in the local transportation sector, but also helping the local area to continuously improve and enhance infrastructure construction.

Recently, a number of Chinese electric vehicle companies announced the expansion of their investments in Southeast Asia: On July 4, BYD's Thailand factory officially went into production, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, and is expected to create 10,000 jobs; On July 15, Cambodia announced that BYD plans to invest in an electric vehicle assembly plant in Cambodia, with an estimated annual assembly capacity of 20,000 vehicles; On July 17, GAC Aion's Thailand smart factory was officially completed and put into production... From exporting complete vehicles to investing in and building factories locally, Chinese automobile companies are actively assisting the local automobile industry in its transformation and upgrading.

China also cooperates with Southeast Asian countries to strengthen talent training in electric vehicle-related industries. On July 18, the China-ASEAN New Energy Vehicle Industry-Education Integration Community was officially established in Guangxi, covering 89 member units, bringing together schools, scientific research institutions, upstream and downstream enterprises and many other forces to promote the coordinated development of China and ASEAN's new energy vehicle industries. Ronnie, chairman of the board of directors of Indonesia's Ananda Industrial Vocational and Technical School, a member of the community, said that China is in a leading position in the field of new energy vehicles, and cooperation with China can provide support for the local electric vehicle industry.

Rachanida, director of the strategic department of the Thai Automotive Institute, said that China's electric vehicles are leading the market, which not only promotes the capacity cooperation of the Thai-Chinese automotive industry, but also accelerates the development of supply chain companies such as batteries and charging piles, helping Thailand to form a complete electric vehicle industry chain. Degu Dartanto, dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia, believes that more and more Chinese electric vehicles are entering the Indonesian and Southeast Asian markets, which is consistent with the region's green development needs, and is conducive to improving the technical level of local companies and promoting the development of the industry chain.

(Tanggerang, Indonesia, July 25)

People's Daily (15th edition, July 26, 2024)