Electric Vehicle Adoption: Still Requires Policy Intervention

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government’s target to promote electric vehicle adoption to 10 per cent of the total national vehicle population by 2030 is deemed increasingly challenging to achieve. This situation is crucial amid high emissions and pollution from the transportation sector, which is still dominated by fuel-based vehicles. As of now, electric vehicle penetration in Indonesia is said to be below 1 per cent, far from the minimum threshold for forming a sustainable ecosystem. National Energy Council (DEN) member from the industrial stakeholder group, Sripeni Inten Cahyani, revealed that the low population of electric vehicles is the main challenge in accelerating the energy transition in the transportation sector. According to her, the 10 per cent figure is not merely a symbolic target but the minimum threshold for a complete electric vehicle ecosystem to form. “If it hasn’t reached 10 per cent, the ecosystem hasn’t formed yet. The industry isn’t strong, the supply chain isn’t running, and the market isn’t stable,” she said in West Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026). She explained that the issue is becoming more complex because the growth of fuel-based vehicles continues without significant restrictions. This condition makes the denominator or total vehicle population keep expanding, so the electric vehicle percentage is hard to catch up with even if the absolute number increases. “If conventional vehicles keep increasing, while electric vehicles rise but not significantly, then that percentage target will never be achieved,” said Sripeni. She emphasised the importance of strategies that not only promote the growth of electric vehicles but also control the rate of fuel-based vehicles. On the other hand, various policies have actually been provided by the government to encourage electric vehicle adoption, from incentives to the national roadmap. However, Sripeni assesses that the biggest challenge now lies in the consistency of policy implementation in the field. In addition, supporting ecosystem factors such as financing are also considered to be obstacles. Sripeni stressed that government intervention in the form of incentives is still very much needed at this early stage to encourage adoption. Without such steps, the ambitious 10 per cent target is feared to remain just a figure on paper without concrete realisation in the field.