INKA, VKTR, Barata Cooperate to Produce Electric Vehicle Components

TheIndonesia.co - PT Industri Kereta Api/INKA (Limited) and PT VKTR Teknologi Mobilitas (VKTR), a subsidiary of PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk (BNBR), and PT Barata Indonesia (Persero) have agreed to cooperate in the development and manufacture of automotive components for electric vehicles.

The Head of Agreement (HoA) between the three parties was signed by the Director of Finance, HR, and Risk Management of PT INKA Andy Budiman; President Director of VKTR Gilarsi W. Setijono; and Marketing Director of PT Barata Sulistyo Handoko, in Gresik, East Java, Thursday, September 15, 2022.

"Three companies have agreed to collaborate in developing automotive components, especially for electric vehicles in order to create an ecosystem for the electric vehicle component industry," said Andy Budiman in a statement in Jakarta, Thursday.

The scope of the cooperation between the three companies includes the development of automotive components, especially for electric vehicles, testing the performance and durability of automotive components as a result of joint development and implementation of components developed in electric vehicles. "For the first phase, the collaboration will be implemented on electric bus transportation made by PT INKA (Persero)," said Budiman.

PT INKA (Persero) supports Presidential Decree No. 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of Battery-Based Electric Motorized Vehicles. It is currently producing 53 units of electric buses, of which 30 units will be used for G20 Summit transportation. After the G-20 Summit, all of buses will be operated by Perum DAMRI in Bandung and Surabaya.

"The Domestic Components or TKDN level on first generation electric bus of PT INKA (Persero) has reached 42 percent. This year it has reached 60 percent of TKDN and is further being improved through collaboration with universities that involve local industries in the manufacture of electric buses," said Budiman.

President Director of VKTR Gilarsi W. Setijono said this strategic partnership was to create an electricity-based transportation ecosystem by combining the competencies and resources of each party. Later, the joint work will be focused on four things, research and development; co-manufacturing; repower or conversion of fueled vehicles into electricity; and sustainable ecosystem development.

According to Setijono, in terms of research and development, the parties are open to collaborating with companies or universities that have collaborated with INKA and VKTR. The parties also jointly become co-manufactures ranging from the form of the design process to the manufacture of mechanical and electronic components for electrical transportation.

In terms of converting fuel based vehicles to electric vehicles, cooperation will be in terms of the conversion process as well as the design and manufacture of the required components. "The cooperation will be in the form of procuring electricity-based transportation that is more environmentally friendly for a number of tourist destinations - our main targets include the Sarangan, Bromo, Borobudur and Dieng areas," he said.

Marketing Director of PT Barata Indonesia (Persero), Sulistyo Handoko, welcomed the collaboration positively. As a national manufacturing company, Barata Indonesia has a manufacturing capacity with complete infrastructure in various industries. Not only that, Barata Indonesia is also ready to support the needs of the national transportation industry with a high TKDN. This collaboration is also considered to create imported substitute products.

“We continue to innovate in developing the competence of casting products to produce various types of industrial component products that are competitive and can substitute imported components. We welcome this collaboration not only to bring benefits to businesses, but also to contribute to the progress of the national manufacturing industry," said Handoko.

Handoko added that PT Barata Indonesia would produce castings for the electric bus components, starting from the Front Swing Arm, Front Disc Brake Casing, Front Wheel Hub, Steering Link and Front Connector Pad.