Toyota has said it is ready to produce electric vehicles at its plant in Indonesia to support the government’s target for these vehicles to account for 20% of passenger vehicle production in the country by 2025.
Speaking at the Tokyo Motor Show this week, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) president director Warih Andang Tjahjono said his company is looking to cater for the global shift towards electric vehicles, pointing out that “this is a global trend – if we do not join it, we will not be able to export”.
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TMMIN, a joint venture between Japan’s Toyota Motor and regional distribution Astra International, has two vehicle assembly plants located in Kawarang – some 70km east of the capital city Jakarta, with a combined production capacity of 250,000 vehicles per year.
Mr Tjahjono said the company will be a need to refurbish one of its production lines and retrain its production staff to make the switch to hybrid and electric vehicle production. The first step is the switch to plug-in hybrid vehicles, but it will later add battery-powered electric vehicles to its line-up.
The company’s policy depends on the government’s plan to roll out a recharging network and new policies to make electric vehicles attractive to the local market.
In August President Joko Widodo announced he had signed off a long-awaited presidential decree on electric vehicles which includes a series of investment and consumer incentives to compete with what is already in place in Thailand. He cited the abundance of natural resources in the country, including cobalt and manganese, which give it an advantage over neighbouring countries in EV battery production and can help bring down prices.
