KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. The battery-based electric vehicle (BEV) market, commonly known as battery electric vehicle, is set to become increasingly crowded with various line up from the Astra Group.

After launching a series of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) products, studying the electric vehicle market, and beginning to build an electric vehicle ecosystem, the Astra Group is showing its seriousness in the BEV market, which is currently filled with non-Japanese vehicles.

The Head of Corporate of PT Astra International Tbk (ASII), Tira Ardianti, stated that ASII has expanded their electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) network. This is done through PT Astra Otoparts Tbk (AUTO), a subsidiary of the Astra Group in the automotive component sector, which has also started marketing electric vehicle components for 'non-Astra' vehicles.

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With this capital, the Astra Group plans to introduce more of its electric vehicle products to the market.

"In the next two years, we will launch BEV models. In addition, we will continue to develop hybrid products during this electrification transition," Tira told KONTAN (4/5).

As is known, the current BEV market share in Indonesia, at least in the first quarter of 2024, is still dominated by non-Japanese brands. The main champion is Wuling, which led BEV sales from January to March 2024 with a wholesale realization of 3,807 units.

This number is equivalent to 64.72% of the total national wholesale BEV from January to March 2024, which amounted to 5,882 units. The top three brands with the most BEV wholesale are Morris Garage with 500 units, followed by Hyundai with a wholesale realization of 406 units.

Automotive observer, Bebin Djuana, stated that Japanese automotive manufacturers are indeed focusing on the BEV market. This includes Toyota, one of the Astra Group's principals, which is catching up with Tesla in the global BEV market.

"So don't be surprised if Astra will soon move in that direction, because its principal already has flagship products," Bebin told KONTAN (3/5).

Although Astra has only recently taken BEV seriously, Bebin is optimistic that Astra can catch up as a major player in the BEV market. This is due to the network that Astra has.

"Of course, the strength of the brand image and a solid network, as well as good products, will maintain its position as a major player," Bebin explained.

ASII Performance

ASII's stock movement has weakened since the beginning of the year. On Friday's trading (3/5), ASII's stock price closed at Rp 5,225 per share, up 0.97%. However, measured since the beginning of 2024, ASII's stock is still down 7.52%.

The correction of ASII's stock is in line with its financial performance, which is currently under pressure. Throughout January-March 2024, ASII recorded a net income of Rp 81.20 trillion, down 2.13% compared to the realization of net income in the January-March 2023 period which reached Rp 82.98 trillion.

From this income, ASII pocketed a profit for the period attributable to the parent entity or net profit of Rp 7.46 trillion, down 14.39% compared to the net profit for the January-March 2023 period which amounted to Rp 8.71 trillion.

However, this performance realization exceeded BRI Danareksa Securities' projection. In its research published on April 24, 2024, the BRI Danareksa Equity Research Team projected ASII's revenue to range from Rp 76 trillion to Rp 77 trillion with a net profit of Rp 8.5 trillion to Rp 8.6 trillion.

This projection takes into account the sluggish automotive industry in the first three months of 2024. With these considerations, the BRI Danareksa Research Report dated April 24, 2024 recommends a hold on ASII with a target price of Rp 5,600 per share.

Senior Investment Information of Mirae Asset Securities, Muhammad Nafan Aji Gusta Utama, suspects that the recent decline in ASII's price was also driven by the sentiment of the entry of the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD, into Indonesia.

However, despite the price drop, Nafan recommends an accumulative buy for ASII shares with a target price of Rp 6,000.

According to Nafan, ASII has a positive topline performance trend. This is because its revenue is also supported by business sectors other than automotive. On the other hand, technically, ASII's stock price has the potential to rise.

"Astra has actually started to minor sideways, hopefully, the accumulation phase has occurred, because technically the fair price could reach Rp 6,000," Nafan explained to KONTAN (3/5).

Editor: Syamsul Azhar