JAKARTA— Rachmat Gobel of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) stated that the national automotive industry is now capable of producing pickup trucks. This statement was in response to car imports for the Red and White Cooperative (KMP). Deputy Chair of Commission VII of the DPR RI, Evita Nursanty, emphasized the importance of using domestic products in vehicle procurement for KMP.
Gobel believes that the policy of importing large quantities of cars has the potential to align with efforts to strengthen the national industry and create domestic jobs. “The president’s aides must correctly interpret and implement the President’s ideals, namely Astacita, the Prabowonomics concept, and Sumitronomics,” Gobel said, quoted on Saturday, 21 February 2026.
According to Evita, this large-scale procurement project should serve as a momentum to strengthen the national automotive industry, not simply to meet the needs of village logistics distribution. “This is a very large-scale procurement. The impact will not only be on village logistics, but also on the structure of the national automotive industry,” she said.
Previously, the government planned to import around 105,000 units of pickup vehicles from India to support KMP’s logistics transportation. The estimated value is Rp 24.66 trillion. Gobel believes this import plan has the potential to conflict with the government’s priority agenda, particularly job creation and strengthening national industrialization. “This plan to import cars on a large scale using state-owned enterprise (BUMN) funds completely does not support Astacita, and in fact, violates Astacita. It wastes state funds to finance foreign workers and foreign industries,” he said.
He emphasized that fiscal policy and the role of state-owned enterprises should be instruments to stimulate domestic industry and absorb labor, especially vocational graduates, who are widely absorbed in the automotive sector. Gobel also emphasized that the Indonesian automotive industry has developed with an extensive production and service network, as well as a continuously increasing level of local content.
Furthermore, he believes that the procurement of vehicles for cooperatives should be an opportunity for the national industry to demonstrate its capacity. “The procurement of cars for KDMP (Red and White Village Cooperative) should be an opportunity for PT PINDAD to demonstrate its capabilities,” he said.
Previously, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita confirmed that Indonesia is capable of producing pickup trucks independently. He stated that if the procurement of 70,000 pickup trucks were met domestically, it would have an economic impact of approximately Rp 27 trillion. (TEMPO/ANTARA)
