State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan announced that he would resume work on his electric car program if he is not re-appointed as minister in the new Indonesian governments cabinet.
“I will resume it (electric car development). That was a job and not part of the duties of a state enterprises minister. I definitely will develop it again,” Dahlan stated after chairing a meeting of the State Enterprises Ministry at the headquarters of the publicly listed company, PT. Kimia Farma Tbk here on Thursday.
Dahlan said he will lay greater emphasis on developing electric cars as he will have more time if he is not part of the next cabinet.
Dahlan is one of the national figures who has made persistent efforts in the development of electric cars, with the objective of creating a national electric car for the country.
The initiative gained the support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Dahlan formed a five-member team of experts called “Pendawa Putra Petir” to develop several types of electric cars, ranging from city cars to sports cars.
“I am also ready to become a sociopreneur,” Dahlan remarked.
Earlier, Minister Iskan conducted a long-distance test drive on the first Indonesian super-electric car Tucuxi in Solo in January 2013.
The car, which cost near Rp1.5billion or roughly US$125 thousand to build, was created by the Kupu Kupu Malam modifications house in Yogyakarta in 2012. It has the same horsepower as a car powered by a 3.5-liter gasoline engine.
The Tucuxi electric car can travel as far as 400 kilometers in four hours from Tawangmangu, Solo, to Magetan, East Java, across hilly terrain reaching an altitude of almost 1,305 meters above sea level.
However, Dahlan crashed the car into the side of a mountain road during a test drive on Mount Lawu, East Java.
He and the co-driver, auto Mechanic Ricky Elson, emerged unscathed from the accident.
The car, which was named after a small dolphin species that lives in fresh and salt water ponds, was beyond repair.
