Hyundai launches new car plant to produce Indonesia's first local electric car

Hyundai Motor Group has launched a new automotive manufacturing plant to produce Indonesia's first locally assembled electric vehicle. This move is in line with President Joko Widodo's goal of developing a full EV supply chain by utilising the country's mineral resources.

Hyundai's manufacturing site in Indonesia comes at a time when the government is providing incentives and has removed red tape to try to boost investment in EV development. "We need to be an important player in the global supply chain of electric cars," Widodo told Reuters, adding, "Our country has large mineral resources that can be used for development of electric cars."

Indonesia is a major nickel ore producer, an element that is an important material for EV batteries. The country also produces cobalt, also used for batteries, and has large deposits of bauxite and copper ores, which can be used for EV production. Referring to this, Widodo said that by 2024, all EVs produced in Indonesia will use locally made batteries and other key components.

Hyundai, in 2019, had said that it would invest $1.55 billion up to 2030, with starting capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, to be later expanded to 250,000 annually. The group's chairman Euisin Chung also said that the new manufacturing plant would also be linked with a Hyundai-LG joint venture battery plant, which is scheduled to open in 2024.

The construction of the $1.1 billion EV battery plant with LG Energy Solution (LGES) was started in September last year and its full capacity is expected to produce 10 gigawatt hours of battery cell power.

The carmaker is dedicated towards its commitment to shift towards electric mobility. It recently confirmed plans to bring in as many as 11 new EVs by the end of this decade. The company has an ultimate objective of selling 1.87-million all-electric EVs for a seven per cent share in the global EV space (Read full report here).

(with inputs from Reuters)