Tesla is said to be close to signing an agreement with the Indonesian authorities on the construction of the company’s fifth car factory. This according to Bloomberg, which refers to sources who should know the plans.
The aim is reportedly to establish a factory that can produce one million cars a year. An important reason why it may be built in Indonesia is the country’s mineral resources. Indonesia has large reserves of nickel and cobalt. There are also reserves of lithium in the country.
The authorities’ discussions with Tesla will, in addition to a car factory, concern a number of different facilities in the country in connection with car production.
So far, no agreement has been signed, and it is therefore not certain that there will be anything from an Indonesian Tesla factory. That talks are taking place, however, is confirmed by the Indonesian investment minister Bahlil Lahadalia, writes Bloomberg.
The country’s President Joko Widodo has previously expressed his wish for the American car manufacturer to produce cars in the country – after Tesla signed contracts for the purchase of nickel from Indonesian companies last year.
Low car prices
Although Indonesia may be an attractive country to manufacture cars in, it is not a given that it is a location that immediately makes sense. Tesla’s factory in Germany is built to supply cars to the European market. Their factory in China makes many cars for export, but also covers the Chinese market.
South-East Asia is nevertheless a quite different market to Europe and China. According to Bloomberg, the average new passenger car in the region costs under 20,000 dollars. That’s about half of the cheapest Tesla Model Y costs in China.
However, Tesla has given signals that it plans to produce a much cheaper car in the price range of $25,000, which will probably be able to sell better in Southeast Asia.
Working with the new generation electric car platform
The company has indicated on several occasions that it is working on a new vehicle platform. During a presentation of quarterly figures this autumn, Tesla leader Elon Musk said that they are working on a new vehicle platform that will cost half of the current platforms to produce.
Tesla recently announced that it will present its third-generation electric car platform during an investor day on March 1.
It is also known that Tesla has also been in talks with other countries’ authorities. During talks with South Korea’s president this autumn, Musk is said to have said that the country is a highly topical candidate for a new factory in Asia. In addition, it is known that Tesla has been in talks with the authorities in Canada.
