Hyundai and Wuling electric car sales rise due to Indonesia tax drop. Auto executives reported that Indonesia’s largest economy’s electric vehicle (EV) adoption increased last month after the government introduced tax incentives.
Indonesia reduced the VAT on electric automobiles with at least 40% local content from 11% to 1% in April.
On the sidelines of an energy transition seminar in Jakarta, Hyundai Motor ASEAN executive Sanghoon Yoon told Reuters that sales of the tax-cut-eligible sport-utility vehicle IONIQ 5 tripled to over 600 units in April.
“EVs are very expensive because of the battery,” Yoon remarked Tuesday. “So I think in the beginning we need a kind of subsidy from the government and it will increase the demand for EVs.”
He predicted that the tax drop and the scarcity of semiconductor chips would help Hyundai sell 10,000 IONIQ 5s in Indonesia this year.
The vehicle has sold 3,000 copies since 2021.
Dian Asmahani, marketing director for the Indonesian arm of the joint venture (JV) that includes Chinese firm Wuling Motors Holdings (0305. HK), said monthly sales of the Wuling Air EV, a small car made by SGMW Motor Indonesia, increased by over 80% to over 740 units.
Indonesians like the two models.
Yoon said Hyundai would release additional battery-EV cars in Indonesia to address the rising demand.
In February, Fitch Ratings predicted that Indonesian sales of four-wheeled EVs, including hybrids, would top 50,000 units in 2023, up from 20,681 last year. Government incentives might boost the prediction.
