Indonesia's Kadin Urges Prabowo to Cancel 105,000 Vehicle Imports

February 22, 2026 | 02:41 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has urged President Prabowo Subianto to cancel a plan to import 105,000 pickup trucks from India for the operational needs of the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives program.

“Importing completely built-up vehicles is tantamount to killing a growing domestic automotive industry,” Kadin Vice Chair for Industry Saleh Husin said in a written statement on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

The government plans to procure 105,000 vehicles for state food company PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara to support logistics for the Merah Putih Cooperatives.

The imports would include 35,000 4x4 pickup trucks produced by Mahindra & Mahindra, 35,000 4x4 pickups from Tata Motors, and 35,000 six-wheeled trucks from the same manufacturers.

Saleh said importing fully assembled vehicles contradicts the government’s industrialization drive and could disrupt Indonesia’s automotive sector. The former industry minister added that local manufacturers have expressed readiness to meet the cooperatives’ demand.

He warned that completely built-up imports would have wide-ranging impacts on the domestic automotive ecosystem. The components industry, which supports vehicle assembly, could be severely affected and risk undermining the sustainability of local car production.

Manufacturers of engines, body parts, chassis, tires, batteries, seats, and electronics are central to the strength of Indonesia’s automotive supply chain, he said. Expanding domestic component production would raise local content levels, create jobs, and generate broader economic multiplier effects.

Instead of relying on imports, Saleh said the pickup procurement under Prabowo’s priority program should be used as momentum to strengthen the national automotive industry.

He noted that several manufacturers, including Suzuki, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Motors, Wuling Motors, DFSK, Toyota, and Daihatsu, are capable of producing light commercial vehicles domestically. He estimated national pickup production capacity at more than 400,000 units per year, which is not fully utilized.

Most locally produced vehicles are 4x2 models with domestic content above 40 percent and are supported by after-sales service networks. Saleh said domestic manufacturers could also produce 4x4 models if given adequate preparation time.

He acknowledged that importing operational vehicles is legally permissible and does not violate current regulations. However, he urged the government to ensure that imports for the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives do not weaken utilization rates at domestic automotive plants.

Saleh also called for closer policy coordination between the Trade Ministry and the Industry Ministry. Under existing rules, motor vehicles are categorized as freely importable goods and do not require special import permits or additional technical recommendations.

He encouraged the government to design schemes that better support domestic industry, such as prioritizing vehicles with high local content, promoting completely knocked down or incompletely knocked down assembly schemes, or fostering local manufacturing partnerships.

Imports, he said, could still be considered for specifications not yet available domestically, but policy design should ensure that the national automotive industry also benefits.

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