Geely Holdings Denies Indonesian Factory Investment Plans

On September 17th, Geely Group released a statement in response to the previous rumors about “building a factory in Indonesia.” Attached is the specific content of Geely Holdings’ statement:

Recently, several media outlets have reported that Geely intends to establish an electric vehicle factory in Indonesia. These reports are highly inaccurate. While Geely is evaluating the potential for developing the new energy market in Indonesia and exploring opportunities to compete in the Indonesian market, there are currently no specific plans to invest or build a factory in Indonesia.

Baoteng has long been the most important foundation for Geely’s market development in the ASEAN region. In the future, Geely will continue to deepen cooperation with strategic partner DRB-HICOM, jointly helping Malaysia become a key driving force for the development of new energy vehicles in ASEAN.

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As for the background of this matter, Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, revealed during a seminar held in Jakarta that he has had discussions with Geely, one of the major Chinese automotive companies interested in investing in Jakarta. “Several months ago, we started negotiations with Geely, and just two days ago, we proposed conducting joint research on producing electric vehicles in Indonesia.” It is reported that the Indonesian government will supply Geely with a key raw material for batteries – nickel ore.

The minister pointed out that it is currently the best time for Indonesia to own and produce domestically-made electric vehicles. They will collaborate with Geely to conduct research, aiming to achieve a “leapfrog development”. It is expected that by 2025-2026, Indonesia will be able to have electric vehicles manufactured by its own people.

Currently, there are three brands producing electric cars in the country: Hyundai, Wuling, and Dongfeng Xiaokang. They are manufactured in factories located on Java Island.

As for the “Baoteng” mentioned in the previous text, it is a national car brand from Malaysia. In June 2017, Geely Automobile acquired a 49.9% stake in Proton. Official data shows that by the end of 2022, Proton achieved triple revenue growth. It has consistently ranked second in terms of sales volume and market share in the Malaysian market for four consecutive years and ranks first in overseas export sales.