Indonesia to speed up green cars production

The Indonesian government plans to start mass production of 10,000 electric cars earlier than the initial target of 2014, in a fresh bid to trim fuel subsidy, the country's industry minister said here on Thursday. "We are now waiting for the president to issue a presidential decree. We expect that it will soon be issued in the coming few days," Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat said, quoted by the Antara News Agency. "Therefore, the government is planning to accelerate the development of green car projects," Hidayat said. According to him, the decree will outline instructions relating to research and development of green cars. Earlier, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also expressed concern over the fuel subsidy burden and called for stepping up efforts to develop green cars. Indonesia is a net-oil importer and provides a huge oil subsidy. Late last month, Hidayat several Indonesian ministries were working on a road map for the national electric automobile industry, and the government had set a target of mass producing 10, 000 electric automobiles in 2014.