On the first anniversary of his inauguration, President Prabowo Subianto declared an ambitious car independence program. Indonesia stands to recover the local car manufacturing schemes funded with money and proposed sites. This bold declaration has been the beginning of the drive towards industrial dominance and positioning of the country in the competitive Asian automobile industry of Southeast Asia.
Prabowi discloses the national car manufacturing plan and budget
President Prabowo had promised that Indonesia would already be embarking on elaborate programs to manufacture indigenous cars over the next three years. The Indonesian president announced at a plenary cabinet session in the State Palace, Jakarta, that budgeting, as well as rezoning of the land, had been made beforehand, on which the factories would be situated. According to the president, the government was beyond the planning world to reality, as task force teams were in place to increase the production capacity available.
It is also based on the current manufacturing facilities for automobiles in Indonesia, with the major one being owned by the state PT Pindad, which currently produces the Maung Garuda SUV and other military cars. Prabowo boasts of Indonesia already being able to manufacture locally assemble jeeps, and now he is expanding the larger scope to other civilian automobile manufacturers.
Highlight points in the project are
- Budget allocation: In general, there is funding available in the factory.
- Preparation of land: The location of factories was identified and prepared for construction.
- Deployment of team: Experienced staff deployed to carry out the project.
- Time: Three-year production objective publicly signed.
PT Pindad to emerge as a feasible national car manufacturer
State-owned defense firm PT Pindad seems to spearhead the national automobile manufacturing initiative in Indonesia with its already established expertise in the production of the Maung Garuda all-terrain tactical vehicle. The company was glorified when the then-president Prabowo Prabowaryto made his first ceremonial ride in a specifically created Pindad MV3 Garuda Limousine that was characterized by classic Indonesian features such as parang batik patterns and those emblematic of the country.
Prabowo has also been distributing Maung line cars as state cars to ministers and other senior government officials since his investiture, and to show his favour to the domestic automobile products. Recently, PT Pindad approved the production of civilian model cars that are wider than the previous duties of manufacturing military vehicles. The dream of the president is a complete-fledged automobile industry that will be able to support the government sector and consumer sector in the Indonesian market.
“We have begun the project. The imported cars assembled in Indonesia will be imported in 3 years. It has invested in it, and the location is prepared for the factory” – President Prabowo Subianto
Future obstacles to automotive independence in Indonesia
The aspiration of Indonesia in setting up an automobile manufacturing firm is discouraged by past unsuccessful efforts at building a national motorcar industry. The World Trade Organization protest marches and financial crisis saw to the failure of the Timor project initiated by President Suharto, and later efforts, such as the Esemka brand, have suffered delays in production and low quality.
Alexander Hynd and Max Broad cited resemblances to prior blueprint and past failures, including being overly intense in focus on imported components and the capacity of PT Pindad to expand into civic servicing sectors. They underlined the fact that the rational growth of the car industry requires more than a nationalistic strategy.
The revived Indonesian drive to go it alone in automotive manufacturing has wider implications of seeking industrial sovereignty within the biggest economy in Southeast Asia. The only way in which success might be realized is through overcoming the historical challenges of strategic planning and technological development, and sustainability in the market positions, instead of depending on the nationalist pride and government backing.