Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (third from left), Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun (third from right) (Screenshopt captured from Airlangga Hartarto)
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has discussed cooperation for hydrogen-fueled cars and electric vehicles with visiting Indonesian economy minister as the automotive group plans to double its production capacity in the Southeast Asian country to expedite its foray into the region.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he had met in Seoul with Chung, Hyundai Motor Chief Executive Chang Jae-hoon and the automotive group’s advisor Sung Kim, a former acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
The minister said that Hyundai has been participating in various hydrogen projects ranging from waste utilization in Indonesia. He added the Indonesian government is building an EV development roadmap, including offering various incentives.
Hyundai is the biggest EV seller in Indonesia.
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun (left), Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (Screenshopt captured from Airlangga Hartarto)
Since completing a plant with an annual production capacity of 125,000 units in Indonesia in 2022, Hyundai has been churning out multi-purpose vehicle Stargazer, compact crossover Creta, mid-size SUV Santa Fe, all-electric midsize crossover IONIQ 5 from the plant located in Cikarang, West Java, Indonesia.
It plans to double its production capacity in the factory to make it as a major manufacturing base in Southeast Asia.
The South Korean carmaker started producing battery cells in Karawang New Industry City, near Jakarta, together with LG Energy Solution Ltd.
The two companies will pour a combined $1.1 billion into the plant, which currently has a production capacity of 10 gigawatts hours annually.
Battery cells produced at the plant are being installed on EVs made at Hyundai’s Cikarang plant.
Hyundai Motor Chief Executive Chang Jae-hoon (second from left), Hyundai Motor advisor Sung Kim (far right) (Screenshopt captured from Airlangga Hartarto)
Additionally, Hyundai Motor joins hands with Indonesia to build a smart city as a partner in Nusantara, to which the country plans to move its capital.
In 2022, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nusantara Capital City Authority to establish an advanced air mobility system, which is expected to ease traffic congestion in the new capital city.
Chung has visited Indonesia four times since taking the helm of Hyundai Motor Group in October 2020.
His latest trip to Indonesia was in September last year as business delegation of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for his state visit to the country.
At the summit meeting between the two countries, they affirmed their commitment to expand the scope of business cooperation in various business areas, including EVs, batteries, bio, agricultural machinery, petrochemicals and steel.
By Jae-Fu Kim
hu@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article
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