July 17, 2024

Hyundai Starts Assembly Of Kona Electric In Indonesia


Hyundai has rolled off its first-ever Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) built completely in Indonesia: the second-generation Konda Electric.

Though the Ioniq 5 is also built at Hyundai’s Indonesian plant, they’re merely assembled using imported CKD kits imported from Korea. In the case of the Kona Electric, Hyundai has invested heavily to assemble it locally there, including its high-voltage battery.

The batteries are made in a joint-venture plant with LG Energy Solutions called PT Hyundai LG Indonesia (HLI) Green Power. Located in Karawang, near Jakarta, the Indonesian battery cell plant has an annual production capacity of 10-GWh worth of lithium-ion NCMA cells.

The batteries are then assembled into battery packs by PT Hyundai Energy Indonesia that has the capacity to supply 50,000 units annually.

Both factories complement the PT Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (HMMI) plant that currently assembles the Ioniq 5, and now, the Kona Electric. This facility is poised to increase its EV production capacity to 70,000 units by this year, with total production capacity of 150,000 units per year after.

Going back to the Konda Electric, it retails starting at 499 million Rupiah (P 1.805 million) going up to 575 million Rupiah (P 2.08 million) for the top-of-the-line Long Range variant.

In terms of specifications, all variants of the Kona Electric come with a front-mounted electric motor, which is rated at the same peak torque of 255 Nm. The difference comes in maximum power, which is 156 horsepower for the Standard Range variants and 217 horsepower for the Long Range variants.

The Kona Electric Standard Range is equipped with a 48.9-kWh lithium-ion battery enough for a 448-kilometer range, while the Kona Electric Long Range gets a 66-kWh battery pack for up to 602 kilometers of maximum range. All models also come with a battery conditioning system.

As for features, the Kona Electric comes with two 12.3-inch digital displays, a dual zone climate control, an 8-speaker Bose sound system, 17 or 19-inch alloy wheels, a full-width glass sunroof, power tailgate, 360-degree camera, and a full set of Hyundai Smart Sense ADAS.

No word whether Hyundai will offer the Kona Electric to other ASEAN countries such as the Philippines, but Hyundai did acknowledge that by producing it in Indonesia, it will “significantly improve EV production efficiency by reducing logistics costs and shortening battery supply lead times.” 

The Korean automaker, however, sees Indonesia as a bridgehead in its ASEAN offensive. Indonesia has the world’s largest reserves of nickel at around 21 million tons. However, since 2020, the government has banned exporting nickel ore and only allowed it for local use, which could mean a big boost for its EV industry in the coming years. By 2030, it aims to convert 25 percent of the nation’s new vehicle sales to EVs.

8 comments:

  1. Why does Hyundai need to put up a plant in Indonesia? Is it expensive to manufacture vehicles in Korea? Or are they after cheaper taxes and tariffs?

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    Replies
    1. Low labor cost, abundance of EV minerals component, ASEAN free trade

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    2. Indonesia is rich in nickel which is used in batteries. They banned exports of such raw material to secure higher margins in the downstream industry eg battery and EVs production (vs exporting it raw).

      Tesla and BYD are also planning to set up battery plants in Indo

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    3. Philippines is the number 2 when it comes to supply of nickel, lets hope we will be next inspite of the fact that foreign investors are avoiding investing here due to many reasons as exemplifies by Intel & others

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    4. The Hyundai Kona 2.0 GLS AT with internal combustion engine sells at P1.188M. Now with the Kona electric, you can purchase it at around P2.08M- 2.380M or double the price and get an EV car together with all the problems inherent in an electric vehicle- high acquisition costs, range anxiety, long charging times and availability of charging stations, very low resale values, etc. Just because electric is new doesn't mean it is better. Electric vehicles does not equate to sustainable mobility.

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    5. now a days Floods are everywhere...very bad if you have EV

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  2. The Kona is rather hyped as the whole Hyundai Motor Group are, especially Hyundai and Kia vehicles are nor even doing well in rough conditions nor the South Korean carmakers' products are in spare parts - also the bodyshell of Hyundai/Kia cars are fragile than for example Peugeot by Stellantis. (Even in Thailand for example Hyundai/Kia is virtually non-existent and both does not have factories there just as Peugeot does, while in contrast, Mercedes and BMW have manufacturing plants in Thai grounds.)

    ReplyDelete
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