"The Air EV is the newest version of electric vehicles manufactured by SGMW for the world, and Indonesia has become the first station," Shi Guoyong, president director of Wuling, said at its roll-out ceremony at Wuling's production factory in Bekasi, West Java province.

Wuling Motors Indonesia operates as a subsidiary of major Chinese automaker SAIC-GM-Wuling, which is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors and Liuzhou Wuling Motors based in Liuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Currently, Wuling has more than 150 local dealers in Indonesia, with a total of eight types of vehicles produced and sold locally.

In the EV sector, Wuling is not the only Chinese player in Southeast Asia. China's leading EV manufacturer BYD held a groundbreaking ceremony in March for its first car plant in Thailand, while Great Wall Motor, China's leading sport utility vehicle and pickup manufacturer, highlighted its three NEV models at the Malaysia Autoshow 2023 from May 4 to 7.

Looking ahead, Wuling will focus its efforts on the Indonesian market, Asmahani said on May 9 at the Wuling camp in Labuan Bajo. She is confident of Wuling's prospects with the Air EV model in the Indonesian market.

"It is a smart, very good solution for the Indonesian market," she said, noting that apart from being suitable for the road conditions in Indonesia, its price is affordable to Indonesian consumers, which has remained unaffected by inflation.

The car is small, measuring 3 meters in length, 1.5 meters in width and 1.6 meters in height, making it a top choice for driving on Labuan Bajo's two-lane roads leading to the summit's main venue, media center and hotels.

"The car is cute," said Brian Gomgom, public relations manager for Wuling Motors Indonesia. The Wuling camp in Labuan Bajo is staffed with about 80 people, including drivers.

Pointing to a Wuling car painted pristine white, Gomgom explained the detailing on the car's body in addition to the summit logo, saying the special patterns — largely in red and yellow — mark the local culture of Labuan Bajo. Also, the Wuling motto "Shaping Clean Tomorrow "can be seen, he added.

At the summit, Asmahani said Wuling provided services for 13 delegations, keeping three cars in mobile status for each, and operating for 12 hours a day starting from about 8:00 am.

"Being part of the ASEAN summit once again proves our commitment to accelerating green mobility in the global market," she said.

Xinhua