Toyota looks to begin building EVs in Indonesia
The Japanese car company Toyota is planning to invest billions to build battery-electric cars in Indonesia before the end of the decade. In addition, hybrid vehicles are also to come off the production line there.
This is according to a statement by the Indonesian Ministry of Economy. According to the statement, Toyota plans to invest more than 27 trillion rupiah, the equivalent of 1.77 billion euros, in the Southeast Asian country over the next five years to produce electric vehicles. Indonesia’s top economy minister Airlangga Hartarto said in the statement that Toyota had invested 14 trillion rupiah in the country since 2019.
The day before the announcement was released, the minister was in Tokyo and had met with Toyota’s vice chairman Shigeru Hayakawa, among others, according to Reuters. Toyota confirmed the investment plans in principle in the Indonesian announcement. “We hope that with this additional investment, the Indonesian government will understand our seriousness to invest in electric vehicles,” Toyota vice chairman Hayakawa is quoted as saying.
The Indonesian statement went on to say that Toyota would initially produce “various types of hybrid electric vehicles” in Indonesia over the next four years. Toyota, however, declined to give Reuters details of the investments discussed at the meeting.
Indonesia aims to allow only electric-powered cars and motorbikes by 2050. “I believe the demand for electric vehicles, whether four-wheeled or two-wheeled, will continue to grow in Indonesia and ASEAN,” Minister Airlangga said after the Tokyo meeting. In the process, Indonesia wants to build its own battery industry with its large nickel deposits and become a global production and export centre of electric vehicles.
Several other Asian companies have already announced large investments and concrete eMobility projects in Indonesia, including the Hyundai Motor Group and the battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution from South Korea as well as the Chinese industry giant CATL.
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