BALI: The Bali provincial government, in cooperation with the electric vehicle industry, has designed the Electric Vehicle Information Centre (EVIC) application to help address concerns regarding EV use.
"The important thing is to reduce fear in using electric vehicles, so people are no longer afraid because they already know how EV is operating," Head of the Bali Transportation Agency I.G.W. Samsi Gunarta said while introducing the EVIC at the Periklindo Electric Vehicle Conference 2024 in Badung on Thursday (Sept 12), reported Antara
He informed that the application will later have complete information on electric vehicles provided by around 30 EV companies that are members of the Indonesian Electric Vehicle Industry Association (Periklindo).
In addition to displaying vehicles, the system will also show buyer reviews, information on workshops, charging locations, and all related information for the public.
The Bali Transportation Agency is of the view that EVIC will encourage more people to consider EV ownership.
So far, due to lack of understanding, people have tended to hesitate and be afraid of buying the environmentally friendly vehicles, it said.
Though the government is providing subsidies on EV purchases, there are still buyer concerns related to EVs, including in terms of their range and cost.
"First, there is a concern related to distance coverage--people are afraid to use EV just in case it runs out of battery. They are also concerned about (the possibility) of short-circuiting and they think that EV will consume a lot of electricity," Gunarta expounded.
Therefore, the promotion of EVIC is expected to allay people's concerns and worries about using EVs.
Director of the World Resources Institute (WRI) Indonesia Tjokorda Nirarta Samadhi, as a partner of the local government, said that they have set a target of putting 140 thousand electric motorbikes, five thousand electric cars, as well as 50 electric buses on the roads by 2026.
Currently, the achievement of the target is in the lower to moderate range, so the EVIC is also expected to stoke the interest of the Balinese people in using electric vehicles and increase their sales ratio. - Bernama-Antara
