Hyundai Leads Indonesia’s EV Market With Locally Produced IONIQ 5

Hyundai Motor Co. has surpassed Toyota as the top seller of electric vehicles in Indonesia, thanks to its locally produced flagship model, the IONIQ 5, as the South Korean automaker attempts to break Japan's dominance in the Southeast Asian auto market.

The Korea Times reported that Hyundai accomplished this in less than a year, beginning production of the electric crossover at its newly built plant in the Deltamas industrial complex in Bekasi Regency, about 40 kilometres east of Jakarta.

Its market share in the Indonesian EV market increased from 19.6% in the previous year to 56.5% between January and July, the company reported, thanks in large part to strong Ioniq 5 sales. The Sonata sedan and Santa Fe SUV manufacturer manufactures the all-electric Ioniq 5 and other customised combustion engine models in Indonesia for both domestic and export sales.

It also debuted the Ioniq 6 sedan, Hyundai's second dedicated EV model, at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) last month.

The Ioniq 6 is currently being manufactured in Korea for shipment to Southeast Asia. Hyundai hopes to gain a larger share of the Indonesian EV market, as its parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, and South Korea's leading battery maker, LG Energy Solution, are constructing a battery cell plant there to ensure a steady supply of the core EV component to the Hyundai plant.

In Indonesia, which has long been dominated by Japanese automakers and has the world's fourth-largest population of 670 million people, Hyundai has focused on increasing sales with localised models such as the Stargazer multipurpose vehicle and the Creta subcompact car. Hyundai's vehicle sales, including EVs, increased from 3,005 units in Indonesia in 2021, when it ranked 13th, to 31,965 units in 2022, when it ranked eighth. In the January-July period, the automaker sold 20,065 units, ranking sixth.

Its seven-month exports to emerging markets, primarily the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Middle East, increased by 70% year on year to 30,114 units.

Hyundai operates seven domestic plants in Korea and 11 overseas facilities, including four in China and one each in the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India, Brazil, and Indonesia. Their total capacity is 5.65 million vehicles.