Page 248: Low Cost Cars? Really?

“Four of Japan’s top automotive manufacturers are set to produce cheap and green cars in Indonesia by the end of the year.
And while the government has agreed to exempt the vehicles from the luxury tax to boost domestic sales, the vehicle industry has condemned the alternative decision to impose an excise tax.
The four companies — Toyota, Daihatsu, Suzuki and Honda — plan to produce a combined 500,000 low-cost green cars (LCGC) a year with total investment at $1.8 billion, according to Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat.

The plans follow the introduction of a government program offering carmakers incentives if they manufacture LCGC in the country as parts of an effort to make Indonesia an automotive production base for Southeast Asia and promote the use of local content.

“This program will employ many workers, from the primary industry to the spare-parts industry,” Hidayat said on Friday.

Still, the manufacturers are seeking to secure significant incentives from the government before deciding to proceed.”

Full article - go to jakarta globe

My brain had frozen for a moment after I read the news, right before I started to curse on how stupid that decision was. Really? Dude, you don’t need to be a genius to think that this plan would only worsen the city’s already clogged streets. Why don’t you just upgrade the current public transportation? We don’t need more cars in the street to make us more cynical about the traffic that we have to face every single day. Oh dear lord.

image courtesy: http://indonesiaurbanstudies.blogspot.com