Jakarta. Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said Tuesday that many foreign-made trucks entering Indonesia failed to comply with the Euro 4 environmental standards. 

Euro 4 is a cleaner type of fuel that the Indonesian government has mandated.  According to Agus, many of the imported trucks, particularly in the mining sector, only meet the lower standards of Euro 2 and Euro 3. The higher the number, the smaller the amount of pollutants.

“I have received reports of trucks not meeting standards, still running at Euro 2 and Euro 3. However, the vehicles on public roads are already at or getting closer to Euro 4,” Agus told the Investor Daily Round Table in Jakarta.

Agus said that the trucks operating in Indonesia's mining sector were mainly imports despite the country’s capability of producing vehicles with higher emission standards. The heavy reliance on imports caused Indonesia to lose the huge market potential. 

The government will draft regulations to make sure that vehicles operating not only on public roads, but also in other operational areas, including mining, must meet Euro 4 standards.

“Other countries are already discussing Euro 5 and Euro 6, so we can no longer delay [the Euro 4] implementation.” 

Indonesia is hoping to transform its industries to be net-zero by 2050. Indonesia has required gasoline engines to implement the Euro 4 standard in 2018, and a similar mandate came into effect for diesel engines in 2022. Media reports showed that Indonesia had imported over 13,000 units of completely built-up trucks from China. In other words, these trucks did not come in parts, but already arrived in the country in ready-to-use state.