Indonesia is urging Volkswagen AG to invest in its electric vehicle industry as the country seeks to counterbalance Chinese companies’ dominance over its nickel reserves, Bloomberg reported.
The German automaker may partner with Vale SA, BASF SE and Merdeka Copper Gold to invest in the local car battery sector, said Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia on the sidelines of the Hannover Messe trade fair. VW’s battery company PowerCo is holding talks worldwide, including in Indonesia, on raw material hedging, a company spokesperson said.
“This is all to anticipate a trade war between big countries,” Lahadalia said in a Monday statement. “We must embrace a free and active economy, and we do not discriminate which countries are prioritized. All countries are equal.”
Read also: Jokowi meets European firms over battery-grade nickel projects
President Joko Widodo’s vision of building an end—to-end EV supply chain onshore is starting to take shape with billions of dollars in investments pouring in to turn the country’s nickel riches into batteries. But the industry is dominated by Chinese companies that have moved quickly to put in the funds and the technology needed to unlock the reserves, placing Indonesian products at risk of being left out of US and European markets.
BASF is considering building a nickel-cobalt refinery with Eramet SA, although no decision has been made, according to a spokesperson.
Ford Motor Co has taken a stake in a battery-nickel plant being built by Vale and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co, while Tesla Inc is still in investment talks with the Indonesian government.
For Volkswagen, gaining access to the metal reserves could help its push to develop a mass-market car for the electric age. The German auto giant has struggled to keep pace with Tesla’s EVs and needs to halt sales declines in China, where domestic manufacturers led by BYD Co have stepped up their game.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
