Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the government is currently discussing with Ford Motor Co and Hyundai Motor Co to build cooperation related to electric vehicles in Indonesia. Citing a Reuters report, Tuesday, October 25, 2022, Airlangga Hartarto’s statement was delivered while visiting Washington, D.C.
Ford, Indonesia’s Vale nickel miner and China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt said in July that they had signed a non-binding memorandum of cooperation to build a plant in Indonesia to extract nickel chemicals.
Hartarto said Indonesia is also in discussions with Hyundai and South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution regarding investment in batteries and electric vehicles.
“We have the raw materials for electric vehicle battery technology,” Hartarto told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
Indonesia’s large supply of nickel, as well as semiconductor production capacity, “could support the US auto industry,” he said.
