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Hyundai to produce electric cars in West Java by 2022
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As the world’s largest producer of nickel, Indonesia is eyeing a more strategic position in the global supply chain for the development of lithium batteries and, eventually, electric cars. (Shutterstock/buffaloboy)
C
armaker Hyundai Motor Asia-Pacific is planning to start manufacturing electric cars in West Java by 2022, as Indonesia plans to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), the company’s vice president announced on Monday.
The company’s vice president and chief operations officer, Lee Kang Hyun, said the EVs would be produced in Hyundai's first manufacturing center in Southeast Asia in Delta Mas, Cikarang, West Java.
“With the support of ministries and the local government, the factory’s construction is 65 percent done despite the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said during a press conference at the 2020 West Java Investment Summit in Bandung on Monday.
Lee said the factory would start producing cars by the end of next year, with a projected capacity of 150,000 cars by the second half of 2021. The full annual target is 250,000 vehicles.
The 77.6-hectare factory requires an investment of at least US$1.55 billion, including operational costs and product development, he added.
As the world’s largest producer of nickel, Indonesia is eyeing a more strategic position in the global supply chain for the development of lithium batteries and, eventually, electric cars. Under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration, the local automotive industry is expected to begin domestic EV production by 2021 or 2022, with a target of exporting 200,000 electric cars by 2025.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir stated in October that Indonesia had potential in mineral and coal downstreaming as the country had an abundance of nickel reserves, the main ingredient in EV batteries.
