Jakarta, March 29 -- Indonesia will be able to decrease the domestic prices of electric vehicles (EV) by up to 30 percent by taking the initiative to manufacture its own EV batteries, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated.

"I believe that the prices of electric cars will drop by 20-30 percent," he remarked in Jakarta on Thursday (March 28).

He noted that EV batteries had been quite costly, with the prices equivalent to 40-50 percent of the prices of EV cars.

On that note, Kartasasmita suggested that Indonesia resort to producing the batteries domestically in a bid to directly cut the prices of the eco-friendly vehicles.

The minister further highlighted that in addition to decreasing the prices of electric cars, domest...