The Indonesian government seems to be pulling up its socks in a bid to catch up with other markets in the EV space. According to a Reuters report, Indonesia invited Ford Motor Company and Hyundai Motor Company to set up its operational base related to electric vehicles in the Southeast Asian country. The report states that Indonesia Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, made this statement in Washington, D.C. last week and the country is gearing up to work in this direction.
Ford, nickel miner Vale Indonesia and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt had earlier said that in July they had signed a non-binding memorandum of cooperation to build a plant in Indonesia to extract nickel chemicals. Hartarto said Indonesia also is in discussions with Hyundai and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution over battery and EV investments. “We have raw materials for EV battery technologies,” Hartarto told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Indonesia’s large supplies of nickel, as well as semiconductor production capacity, can support the U.S. auto industry,” Hartarto said.
If the deal materialise, Indonesia will be join the Asian developing economies in the push for faster adoption of greener vehicles. While Ford already winded up from the Indian market last year and is likely to make its comeback selling CBU models like the Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai India already sells the locally assembled Kona electric SUV in our market is testing the Ioniq 5 on the Indian roads as well.