Rows of robotic arms move with precision to assemble nickel-based battery cells on the production line at Indonesia's inaugural electric vehicle battery plant, the first in Southeast Asia. After being chosen by a joint venture of South Korea's Hyundai and LG for the $1.1 billion factory, Indonesia is now looking to boost investment to give it an edge in the race to become a regional EV hub.
When he opened the West Java plant in July then-president Joko Widodo said such investments would make Southeast Asia's biggest economy an "important global player" in the EV supply chain. But while the country boasts the world's largest nickel reserves, analysts pointed out that it still faces a battle owing to its poor processing and refining capacity, environmental worries and the rise in other types of batteries. It also has some way to go to rival Thailand, which Krungsri bank said had market share of 78.
7 percent of Southeast Asia's EV sales as of early 2023, with Indonesia following with eight percent. AFP was given rare access to the factory floor to get a glimpse of the plant's complex battery cell production, most of which will be shipped to Hyundai subsidiaries in South Korea and India. Hyundai said the new factory was a commitment to helping the archipelago become a supercharged Southeast Asian EV maker.
"It shows we are ready to support the government's desire to become a hub for Southeast Asia," Fransiscus Soerjopranoto, chief operating officer of Hyundai's Indonesian subsidi.