Hyundai to launch first heavily localised EV in Indonesia
Hyundai is the first automaker to offer an EV localised down to the battery cell level in Indonesia and started taking pre-orders for the second-gen Kona Electric last month. HLI Green Power, a 50/50 joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) and LG Energy Solution (LGES), makes the battery cells.
Located in Karawang, near the capital Jakarta, the Indonesian battery cell plant has an annual production capacity of 10 GWh worth of lithium-ion NCMA cells, enough to power more than 150,000 Electronic Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) EVs. In April, LGES revealed that HLI Green Power started production in the first quarter of the year.
Hyundai Mobis will further process the battery cells from HLI Green Power into modules that include a controller and a heat controller. The ready-to-install battery system from the Hyundai Mobis plant will then go to Hyundai’s production plant in Cikarang, about 60 km southeast of Jakarta, where the Kona Electric will be manufactured.
Hyundai already sells the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 mid-size EVs in Indonesia, but it only assembles the former from imported CKD kits and imports the latter in CBU form. While the locally assembled crossover’s prices start at IDR 990 million (EUR 56,336), the fully imported sedan costs IDR 1,200 million (EUR 68,286). In comparison, the lower-segment and heavily localised Kona Electric will retail at just around IDR 500 million (EUR 28,452) in the base configuration.
The EV is available in Indonesia in a Standard Range variant that can travel up to over 400 km and a Long Range variant that can deliver a range of up to over 600 km. Note that both range figures are based on internal testing.
Hyundai sees Indonesia as a bridgehead in its new ASEAN offensive. The country has the world’s largest reserves of nickel – 21 million tons. However, since 2020, the government has banned exporting nickel ore and only allowed it for local use, which could mean a big boost for its EV industry in the coming years. By 2030, it aims to convert 25% of the nation’s new vehicle sales to EVs.
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