Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inauguration of PT Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Indonesia Factory and Launching Ceremony of Hyundai IONIQ 5 Electric Car, Bekasi, West Java Province, March 16, 2022

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
May prosperity be upon us.

Distinguished Cabinet Ministers;
Distinguished Chairperson of Hyundai Motor Group Mr. Eui-sun Chung;
Your Excellency Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Indonesia;
Your Excellency Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Korea;
Distinguished Governor of West Java and Regent of Bekasi;
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Today I am in Bekasi to witness the launching of the IONIQ 5 electric car. This is the moment I have been waiting for. We aim to make a massive transition from cars that use fossil fuels to electric cars that are environmentally friendly. In the future, electric vehicles must become our main mode of transportation and become the foundation for environmentally friendly transportation which will also be developed in our new capital, Nusantara.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We must become an important player in the global supply chain in the electric car industry. Our country has enormous mineral resources to support the development of electric cars. We have nickel, we have cobalt as an important material for lithium batteries, we have bauxite which can be processed into aluminum and can be used for electric car chassis, and we have copper which is needed for batteries and cable systems in electric cars.

Downstreaming of our mineral raw materials must be carried out so that the added value will increase, providing optimal added value. To become a key player in electric vehicles, we need to build a strong ecosystem. Without a strong domestic ecosystem, it will be difficult for us to compete with other countries in building the electric car industry.

The year of 2022 will be an important period for the development of lithium batteries for electric vehicles. Several investors will start construction, and they are ready to process our nickel and cobalt into lithium battery materials. In 2024, electric cars produced in Indonesia will use electric batteries and other important components produced in our country, Indonesia.

The Government will continue to support the increase in local content of electric vehicles by providing incentives and reducing various regulatory barriers so that the upstream industry of electric vehicles will grow, create jobs, and become import substitution.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Government will always support every investment in electric vehicles in Indonesia and also the development of its upstream industry, especially the battery industry. Today, Hyundai will launch the Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric car. The car is the first electric car assembled in Indonesia, which is produced to meet the demand of the Indonesian market as well as the export market.

I hope that the Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric car will be an important milestone in the development of electric vehicles in Indonesia, spurring the development of electric cars that are increasingly sophisticated and in demand.

That concludes my remarks on this auspicious occasion. And by saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I inaugurate and launch the PT Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Indonesia factory and the first IONIQ 5 electric car made in Indonesia.

I thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(RI/MMB)