Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp plans to invest 27.1 trillion rupiah ($1.80 billion) in Indonesia over the next five years to produce electric vehicles (EVs), Indonesia’s economy ministry said on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian country aims to become a global hub for EV production and export by processing its rich reserves of nickel laterite ore for use in lithium batteries. A number of other global companies have already announced major investments in this area, including South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solutions, a unit of the LG Group.
Indonesian Chief Minister of Economy Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement that Toyota has invested 14 trillion rupiah in the country since 2019.”I believe the demand for EVs, whether four-wheeled or two-wheeled, will continue to grow in Indonesia and ASEAN,” Airlangga said after meeting with Toyota Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa a day earlier in Tokyo.Indonesia, which has a population of 270 million, aims to sell only electric cars and motorcycles by 2050 to replace vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, the minister said, as the country seeks to reduce carbon emissions.
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. Toyota plans to produce various types of hybrid EVs over the next four years, according to a ministry statement.”We hope that with this additional investment, the Indonesian government will understand our seriousness in investing in EVs,” Toyota’s Hayawaka was quoted as saying in a statement. Toyota declined to disclose details of the investment discussed at the meeting. On Tuesday, Indonesia also announced that Mitsubishi Motors Corp plans to invest about 10 trillion rupiah in Indonesia between 2022 and 2025 to produce hybrid and battery electric cars.The investment commitments by Japanese carmakers come as Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits Japan this week to boost economic ties.
