JAKARTA— Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto attended the opening of Indonesia’s biggest automotive exhibition— GAIKINDO Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS). The opening took place on Thursday 2 August 2018, at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition Building (ICE) -BSD, Tangerang (Banten). GIIAS will roll out until 12 August 2018.
“The automotive industry is an important element of Indonesia’s economic drive, providing employment for 1.4 million workers in the country,” the President said in his remarks as quoted by Sindonews.
The global automotive industry has developed rapidly and a variety of the latest technologies have been created to facilitate public mobilization. The situation is in line with the theme of Beyond Mobility carried by GIIAS 2018.
“Indonesia now faces a variety of automotive challenges. The first is the widespread phenomenon of electric cars that have begun to be applied in various developed countries, including France and Britain, and China which has become one of the biggest markets for the electric car industry,” he said.
Another challenge is technology. Technological developments such as autonomous vehicles and online transportation make the automotive industry have to redefine the meaning of cars. So that the innovation can be categorized as part of a transportation. “While another challenge is the growing trends of online transportation and the achievement of a maximum automotive cycle,” he said.
The President admits that the automotive industry plays an important role, namely as the second largest manufacturing sector. This serves as one of the five industries that attract the largest investment.
“The government is carrying out a number of efforts to support the automotive industry such as discussing with other heads of state, preparing incentives provided to the automotive industry through tax holidays, tax allowances, and super deductions that are being studied at the Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Organized by GAIKINDO, GIIAS 2018 will take place from 2-12 August. This event is the only GAIKINDO exhibition held regularly and continuously since 1986.
In his remarks, GAIKINDO Chairperson Yohannes Nangoi said that GIIAS also serves as a venue for the launch of world premiere models. Therefore GIIAS plays as a benchmark for the role and growth of the Indonesian automotive industry, with the hope of being able to contribute to the Indonesian economic wheel movement. He said, Indonesia’s automotive industry continues to evolve to improve performance and put the nation on a par with the global automotive industry..
Implementation of Euro 4
GAIKINDO representing the Indonesian automotive industry reported that the Indonesian automotive industry welcomed the implementation of the government policy on Euro 4. This is an Indonesian strategy to encourage the development of the Indonesian automotive industry, and to prove that the national automotive industry is ready to commit to supporting the realization of Indonesia’s clean air. For this reason, the industry has committed to prepare the entire automotive industry to welcome Euro 4 specifications, both in terms of vehicle technology and the readiness of supporting industries.
On the same occasion, Airlangga Hartarto stated that the Indonesian automotive industry plays a big role to play in Indonesia’s economy. “Indonesia’s automotive industry is one of the mainstay industries that have a big role in the Indonesian economy. The Indonesian automotive industry is also one industry that is a window to show Indonesia’s capabilities and potential to the world, “he said. (*)
