State-Owned Company to Produce Electric Car Developed by Unila Students

TheIndonesia.co - The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) plans to appoint state-owned PT Pindad to produce electric car developed and built by students and lecturers at Lampung University (Unila).

Minister Erick Thohir said the military and commercial products manufacturer has the sufficient and necessary capabilities to produce the electric car, which is called Electric Vehicle Unila, or E.V.U 01.

“We will introduce [the car] to Pindad to be studied because Pindad is already capable of producing [light vehicle] Maung car even though it still uses diesel. We’ll see if this invention can be collaborated with Pindad so that we can produce our own vehicles,” Thohir said on Sunday, January 30, as reported by Antara.

If the cooperation goes ahead, it won’t be the first of its kind as state-owned PT Wika Industri Manufaktur (WIMA) has already been producing electric motorbikes developed by Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS).

“Electric motorcycle Gesits was founded by ITS Surabaya and has been produced by an SOE. [The cooperation] also included share composition for the university and the researchers,” Thohir explained.

Therefore, for the upcoming project with Unila, Thohir will also implement similar scheme and has been in talks to obtain the name of students involved in the making of E.V.U 01.

Vice rector for general administration and finance at Unila Asep Sukohar said the electric car was developed as an effort to reduce global warming and to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

He also hoped that the vehicle will continue to be developed to improve its existing flaws, including the uneven body caused by the use of natural material, including bamboo fiber.