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Hyundai Motor chief vows to cooperate on EVs with Indonesia

By Jo He-rim

Published : Oct. 25, 2021 - 17:30

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Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun (left) poses with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, next to Hyundai Motor’s Electrified G80 at the Jakarta International Expo Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday. (Hyundai Motor) Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun (left) poses with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, next to Hyundai Motor’s Electrified G80 at the Jakarta International Expo Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday. (Hyundai Motor)
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun vowed to cooperate with the Indonesian government in establishing an electric vehicle ecosystem there, during his visit to the Southeast Asian country on Monday.

Attending a government briefing event -- “Future EV Ecosystem for Indonesia” -- Chung presented the future vision of his automotive group and plans to cooperate with the Indonesian government to expand its business there, according to Hyundai Motor.

“Hyundai Motor Group will support vitalization of Indonesia’s electric vehicle ecosystem and also actively cooperate on development of charging infrastructures and battery recycling technology, so that related industries can lead growth in the future,” Chung said at the event, held at the Jakarta International Expo Convention Center in the north of the Indonesia capital.

At the event, where the government presented the country’s electric vehicle implementation road map, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Indonesian government officials were to be present, along with South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Park Tae-sung.

Chung arrived in Indonesia on a private jet the day before, after his visit to the United States where he checked on the company’s mobility businesses there.

Indonesia has the largest car market in the Southeast Asian region, and the government is also actively pursuing electrification policies to foster the electric vehicle industry there. Hyundai has built a car manufacturing plant, and construction for a joint battery cell factory with LG Energy Solution is planned as well.

“With unsparing support from the Indonesian government, we have completed the construction of a manufacturing plant (in Indonesia) and are set to start EV production next year, and we have also finished the preparation to break ground for our envisioned EV battery cell factory here,” Chung said.

At the event, Chung vowed to carry out various cooperative programs in Indonesia to foster technologies and pursue growth with Indonesia, and also suggested the Indonesian government work together on fostering the hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle industry, according to Hyundai Motor.

Before the start of the main event, Chung and Widodo viewed Hyundai’s electric vehicles, including the Ioniq 5 and the electrified G80, and the automaker’s rapid-charging system E-Pit, which was displayed at the venue, Hyundai Motor said.

In cooperation with LG Energy Solution, Hyundai Motor Group has invested $1.1 billion to build a 10-gigawatt-hour battery cell manufacturing plant in Karawang New Industry City in Indonesia.

The joint factory, being built on a site that totals 330,000 square meters, is set for completion in the first half of 2023.

The two companies have set up a joint venture for the battery cell project, with each owning a 50 percent stake.

The mass production of battery cells is expected to start in the first half of 2024.

Hyundai Motor has established its first finished car production facility in Southeast Asia, in Bekasi, just east of Jakarta.

The automotive plant will start manufacturing Hyundai‘s internal combustion engine vehicles from January, and the company is also reviewing the production of electric vehicles there from March, the automaker said.

In his trip to the US, Chung visited Hyundai’s US corporate sales headquarters in Los Angeles, and also inspected the Alabama production plant.