Ford, Hyundai in talks with Indonesia for EV investments

The Indonesian government is reportedly holding discussions with Ford Motor Company of the U.S. and Hyundai of South Korea over potential investments in electric vehicles (EVs). 

Ford is one of the automakers holding discussions with the Indonesian government over EVs  

According to a Reuters article, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that talks with the two automakers are centering on establishing EV-related operations in the Southeast Asian nation. He made the remarks in front of an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Thursday. 

In July 2022, Ford signed a non-binding memorandum of cooperation with nickel miner Vale Indonesia and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt of China to build a factory in Indonesia for extracting nickel chemicals. 

Meanwhile, Hartarto adds that Hyundai has brought battery maker LG Energy Solution to the table in meeting with Indonesia for battery and EV investments. The two companies have formed a partnership to build an EV battery manufacturing facility in Karawang.   

Hyundai recently inaugurated its first production facility in the ASEAN region 

“We have raw materials for EV battery technologies,” he said, adding that the country’s large supplies of nickel along with its semiconductor production capacity will be able to support the needs of the U.S. auto industry. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producers of nickel, an important raw material in producing EV batteries.  

In March this year, Hyundai officially inaugurated a new manufacturing plant at the Deltamas Industrial Complex in Indonesia, the automaker’s first production facility in ASEAN. Built at a cost of $1.5 billion (over Php 88.1 billion), the factory will be used to mass-produce EVs and is touted to play a key role in expanding Hyundai’s reach in the region. 

Japanese automaker Toyota has its own plans of investing $1.8 billion (Php 106 billion) over the next five years in Indonesia to produce EVs, according to the country’s economics ministry. Indonesia aims to sell electric cars and motorcycles exclusively by 2050 as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions.       

Find out more about efforts by automakers towards sustainable mobility at Philkotse.com.