Electric Cars Sell Well in Early 2024
The sales trend for electric cars continues to rise so that the electric vehicle ecosystem is increasingly being formed.
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PLN officers conducted a test of electricity charging at a public electric vehicle charging station located at the rest area of Kilometer 20B, Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar Toll Road, on Saturday (6/4/2024).
Electric cars are increasingly developing in the Indonesian market. The sales trend continues to increase so that Indonesian people are increasingly familiar with all electric vehicle products on the market. The battery-based electric vehicle ecosystem is increasingly well established in this country.
In the January-March 2024 period, national electric car sales will be more than 30 percent of total sales in 2023. If this positive trend continues, the sales opportunity this year will penetrate figure 20,000 units.
Referring to data from the Indonesian Association of Motor Vehicles Industry (Gaikindo), in the first quarter of 2024, the sales figures for electric cars showed a positive trend. They even recorded the highest sales figures during the first quarter compared to the same period the previous year.
From January to March 2024, a total of 5,811 electric cars have been sold, which is a significantly high number when compared to the 2023 data. During the same period last year, the number of sales was at 1,795 units. This means that there has been an increase of more than 200 percent compared to the same period.
If examined in more detail, there are several cars whose sales are so high that they are able to boost sales figures in the first quarter of 2024. Currently, the best-selling car is the Wuling Binguo with a 410-kilometer travel capability variant, which has sold 1,990 units. The presence of the Wuling Binguo EV continues the success of the Wuling Air EV.
Also read: Rampant Chinese cars
The pure electric-powered Wuling Binguo EV car was officially launched at Mal Kota Kasablanka in South Jakarta on Friday (15/12/2023). This car comes in two variants based on its range, namely the Premium Range with a distance of up to 410 kilometers and a price of Rp 408 million, and the Long Range which has a distance of 333 kilometers and a price of Rp 358 million.
The most prominent attraction of Binguo lies in its design language that resembles the legendary car from England, the Mini Cooper. Binguo has a predominantly round body shape, unlike the Air EV which tends to look more boxy.
The second best-selling position is held by the Chery Omoda 5 which has sold 881 units until the end of March 2024. The electric car, which was first introduced in Indonesia at GIIAS 2023 in August, is currently priced between IDR 300-400 million. If compared to Wuling, its market share is at a similar level with a price range that is quite competitive. It is possible that Chery will become a fierce competitor to Wuling with the same market segment.
Meanwhile, other major electric car manufacturers, such as Hyundai, have also recorded quite good sales. Hyundai Ioniq5 Signature Extended became the best-selling electric car model among the variants offered by the South Korean car manufacturer. As of March 2024, Hyundai Ioniq5 Signature Extended has sold 347 units.
The appeal of electric cars
There are several factors that make electric cars increasingly attractive in the domestic market. One of them is the relatively low operational and maintenance costs, as well as spare parts replacement when compared to gasoline-powered cars. The mechanism of electric cars is also simpler, which results in less maintenance needs.
Simply put, the active components of an electric car are only the electric motor, wheels, and chassis. Meanwhile, in a gasoline-powered car, there are significantly more moving components, resulting in more wear and tear and requiring periodic replacement of the car's components.
The next attraction of electric vehicles is the relatively cheap operational costs. Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications and TJSL PLN, Gregorius Adi Trianto, stated that an electric vehicle with 1 kWh of power can cover a distance of around 8.5 kilometers. If a gasoline-powered vehicle consumes 1 liter of gasoline to cover 10 kilometers, then 1 liter of gasoline is equivalent to around 1.2 kWh. With this consumption ratio comparison, the economic benefits of electric vehicles are apparent when compared to conventional vehicles.
Also read: Resisting the invasion of Chinese electric cars
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Technicians are maintaining electric cars at the official Wuling Prima Kebon Jeruk workshop in West Jakarta on Friday (5/4/2024). Ahead of the 2024 Eid al-Fitr homecoming, the government ensures the availability of public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU) at several points on the Java and Sumatra homecoming routes to anticipate the surge of electric vehicles used for the homecoming journey.
If the electricity tariff at public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU) is around Rp 2,500 per kWh, electric cars require a cost of around Rp 3,000 to travel the same distance as 1 liter of fuel. Meanwhile, the price of non-subsidized RON 92 gasoline is around Rp 13,000, meaning that the operational cost of electric cars is only about 25 percent compared to gasoline-powered cars.
In addition to low maintenance costs and operating expenses, electric vehicles are also very environmentally friendly due to minimal carbon emissions. This is also a positive consideration for consumers to have an electric vehicle unit.
The problem of selling used electric cars
Despite its numerous advantages, electric cars still come with some challenges for its owners or potential customers. This is related to battery prices and the prices of used electric cars.
The price of an electric car battery ranges from 30 percent to 50 percent of the new price of the car if it requires replacement. The high cost of batteries is caused by two factors. First, production costs and raw materials are expensive. Second, specifically in Indonesia, car batteries are still imported so you have to bear shipping costs and import costs in the final price.
Also read: Xiaomi Electric Cars and China's Ambition to Overtake the West
With the upcoming operation of an electric car battery factory in Indonesia in a few years, it is expected that the price of electric cars using domestic battery components will become cheaper. The same goes for the price of electric vehicle battery replacements, which will also be affordable when they need to be replaced at the end of their lifespan.
The guarantee of ease in replacing batteries that have reached the end of their operational life will increase the bargaining power of electric vehicles in the automotive market. With more affordable unit prices and easy battery replacement, consumer interest will be higher. This will also ensure that the market price of used electric vehicles has relatively high economic value. Thus, electric vehicles will become increasingly competitive with conventional engine vehicles.
So far, the niche market for electric cars tends to develop in Indonesia in line with the government's medium and long term plans to continue to improve the electric vehicle ecosystem on the national stage. The public's high enthusiasm for electric cars must continue to be maintained and stimulus provided so that the government's plan to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector can be achieved in an accelerated manner. (R&D COMPAS)
