Future Toyota EV’s for Malaysia will come from Indonesia.
The Indonesian government has just announced (this Wednesday) that Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corporation plans to invest 27.1 trillion rupiah (about USD1.8 Billion) in the country over the next 5 years to produce new generation electric vehicles.
Reuters also shared that Indonesia intends to use the country’s rich supplies of nickel laterite ore to produce lithium batteries and become a global hub for producing and exporting electric vehicles.
Indonesia’s chief economics minister Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement Toyota had already invested 14 trillion rupiah in the country since 2019.
“I believe demand for EVs whether its four-wheels or two-wheels will keep increasing in Indonesia and ASEAN,” Airlangga said after meeting Toyota’s Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa a day earlier in Tokyo.
The nation has also set a target of having 13 million electric motorcycles, including converted ones and 2.2 million electric cars on its roads by 2030.
“We hope with this additional investment, Indonesia’s government understands our seriousness to invest in EVs,” Toyota’s Hayawaka was quoted as saying in the statement.
Toyota joins other global companies announcing big investments in this area including Hyundai Motor.
The announcement comes after Indonesia’s coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan urged Japan to invest in the EV industry and other infrastructure projects while asserting that the country is well placed for post-COVID economic growth.
The talks took place on the sidelines of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s recent visit to Japan.
The Indonesian president discussed economic co-operation and infrastructure development with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidain Tokyo on Wednesday.
Also discussed was the setting up of a large industrial park and EV battery projects in eastern Indonesia. He said details over a potential investment by Tesla are being finalized.
The minister said the industrial park under development, which will be just 200 km from Indonesia’s new capital city, Nusantara, would be a game changer.
