National car makers may need $100M investment
Manufacturers of three new national car prototypes might need a combined investment of $100 million to launch assembly plants to mass produce three new vehicles - the Tawon, Gea and Arina, the Industry Ministry forecast, The Jakarta Post reported.
Panggah Susanto, director for land and military transportation, said Tuesday that each of the three national car owners would require more than $30 million to build an assembly plant, with a production capacity of 5,000 to 10,000 units per annum.
He said the vehicles, expected to be priced at around Rp50 million ($5,000) each, were still in the prototype stage and launch schedules remained unclear.
The four-wheel Gea has been developed and tested by the producer, state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka), since last year.
Inka uses a 500-cc engine developed by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) after initially planning to use a Chinese-made engine.
Arina and Tawon are being developed by Semarang State University in Central Java, which is teaming up with local administrations.
The Semarang-based team has produced five designs for the three-wheel Arina, resembling a bajaj � a motorized pedicab. With a capacity of three passengers, Arina, powered by a 500-cc gasoline engine, may be suitable for both carrying goods and passengers.
A production facility for the four-seater Tawon has been built in Serang, Banten, using capital supplied by a businessman from Surabaya, East Java.
Panggah Susanto, director for land and military transportation, said Tuesday that each of the three national car owners would require more than $30 million to build an assembly plant, with a production capacity of 5,000 to 10,000 units per annum.
He said the vehicles, expected to be priced at around Rp50 million ($5,000) each, were still in the prototype stage and launch schedules remained unclear.
The four-wheel Gea has been developed and tested by the producer, state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (Inka), since last year.
Inka uses a 500-cc engine developed by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) after initially planning to use a Chinese-made engine.
Arina and Tawon are being developed by Semarang State University in Central Java, which is teaming up with local administrations.
The Semarang-based team has produced five designs for the three-wheel Arina, resembling a bajaj � a motorized pedicab. With a capacity of three passengers, Arina, powered by a 500-cc gasoline engine, may be suitable for both carrying goods and passengers.
A production facility for the four-seater Tawon has been built in Serang, Banten, using capital supplied by a businessman from Surabaya, East Java.