Hyundai LG Indonesia Green Power (HLIGP), an Indonesia based joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution and Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), held the opening ceremony this week for south east Asia’s first full scale EV battery cell plant.
The event was attended by key officials from the two countries involved, including Indonesian president Joko Widodo, investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia and South Korean trade minister Chung In-kyo, plus Hyundai Motor Group chairman Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Company CEO Chang Jae-hoon and LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung.
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Construction of the plant, in Karawang New Industry City east of Jakarta, began in the third quarter of 2022 with the aim of driving forward the South Korean automaker’s electric vehicle (EV) strategy in the region. The plant will have a production capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery cells per year, enough to power 150,000 BEVs, after the US$1.1bn phase of investment. It will benefit from the availability of key battery minerals in the country, particularly nickel.
Hyundai said its local vehicle assembly plant, also in Karawang, would begin production later this month of the Kona Electric EV powered by batteries made by HLIGP, as the automaker took on fast rising competition in the region from Chinese manufacturers.
Hyundai Motor Group said it had established an integrated battery electric vehicle (BEV) production system in Indonesia, from battery cells to finished vehicles, which it expected would help it also grow its BEV sales in other markets in the region.
Hyundai sold 7,450 BEVs in Indonesia last year, mostly Ioniq 5s, but volume fell sharply in the first five months of 2024 to 525 units on slower overall vehicle demand and as a result of rising competition from Chinese brands.
