Tesla will reportedly meet with officials from Indonesia “in the coming days” to potentially discuss an additional production facility that would serve the Asian market.
Indonesian Senior Cabinet Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said he is set to meet with company officials in the coming days when discussing new incentives that could attack EV investments by major companies.
On Monday, Pandjaitan, along with Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, said the country is already finalizing negotiations with two “big global car producers” to help bring EV production facilities to Indonesia, a country with rich nickel reserves that would support battery production.
Pandjaitan did not confirm which automakers were in discussion with the country but did confirm that he plans to talk to Tesla in the coming days.
Although Tesla just announced a new production facility in Mexico last week that will be responsible for building a new vehicle, Indonesian officials believe that the factory will only support the North American market and the company will need an additional factory to supplement growth and expansion in Asia.
Pandjaitan said he believes Tesla has a separate commitment in Asia, according to Reuters.
Additional EV Investments and Incentives
Indonesia is offering massive incentives to boost the sale of electric vehicles in the country and attract major EV companies to invest in production.
Country ministers Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita and Luhut Pandjaitan said the new incentive program will cover 35,900 EVs, 200,000 electric motorcycles, and 50,000 combustion engine motorcycles that would be converted to electric powertrains.
Seven million rupiah, or around $458 per unit, will be set aside for each new motorcycle sold and converted to an electric bike. Indonesia has heavily focused on adopting electric bikes and scooters for passenger travel over the past few years, pledging to put at least two million units on the road by 2025.
The full-fledged push to push consumers toward EVs goes past the adoption of vehicles. Indonesian officials have pushed heavily to attract manufacturers and suppliers to build in the country.
LG and Hyundai have already started to build battery and EV production factories in the country., while the country’s officials continue to woo both Tesla and BYD to manufacture vehicles.
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