Hyundai to produce IONIQ 5 in Indonesia plant

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will produce the IONIQ 5 all-electric model in its first manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia.

Hyundai Motor completed the 150,000 unit-a-year plant in the Deltamas industrial complex near Cikarang, 40 kilometers east of Jakarta, in December.

The Indonesian plant is already producing the compact Creta SUV, a strategic model for the region, and is expected to churn out the Santa Fe SUV in the first half and a small multi-purpose vehicle in the second half.

Most of the vehicles to be produced in the plant will be sold in Indonesia and exported to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets, Hyundai said in a statement.

Hyundai plans to invest 1.92 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in the plant and increase its output capacity to 250,000 units, the company said in a statement.

The company did not provide a time frame for the investment and capacity expansion.

The maker of the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV will help the Indonesian government in its plans to convert 130,000 units of public vehicles to electric ones by 2030, the statement said.

"I hope that this IONIQ 5 from Hyundai will become an important milestone in the development of Indonesia's electric vehicle ecosystem, and further accelerate the electric car ecosystem that is more advanced," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in the plant's inauguration ceremony in Cikarang.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung said Indonesia is a key hub for Hyundai's future mobility strategy and the plant will play a key role in the local automotive industry, specifically in the field of EVs.

"Moreover, Hyundai will keep contributing to the establishment of the EV ecosystem in Indonesia through synergies with the battery plant that we are currently developing," Chung said.

Hyundai said it is also working with LG Energy Solution Ltd., South Korea's leading car battery maker, to build a battery cell factory in Karawang, Indonesia, with a target to start production in 2024.

It has seven domestic plants -- five in Ulsan, one in Asan and one in Jeonju -- and 11 overseas plants -- four in China and one each in the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India, Brazil and Indonesia. Their combined capacity reaches 5.65 million vehicles. (Yonhap)