Indonesian Hyundai ‘Staria’ MPV could receive an EV in 2022

Hyundai plans to introduce the first Made in Indonesia model in the second half of next year. This model appears to be a compact MPV that may take the ‘Hyundai Staria’ name and it could have an all-electric variant within a year of its launch.

Announcing its first manufacturing plant in Indonesia last year, Hyundai said it plans to produce a compact SUV, a compact MPV and a sedan designed to appeal to customers in the South East Asian region. Moreover, it said that it is exploring EV production at the Indonesian factory.

Because of the high popularity of Japanese MPVs in Indonesia, Hyundai is likely to launch the compact MPV – rumoured to be called Hyundai Staria – as its first locally manufactured model in the country next year. For the same reason, it could consider swapping out the ICE powertrain for batteries and motors and launching it as its first EV in the country. However, this model would be a three-row layout accommodating up to seven people, and to carry all that heavy load and still deliver a decent range, Hyundai may need to fit it with a large battery pack of about 60 kWh.

Reports say that CATL and LG Chem plan to set EV battery pack factories in Indonesia. This would allow Hyundai to produce EVs in the country at a low cost, provided it reaches the decision to manufacture EVs there.

A report from thejakartapost.com last month, citing Lee Kang Hyun, Vice President and COO, Hyundai (Asia Pacific), said Hyundai has decided to produce an EV in Indonesia, starting in 2022. Given the timeframe, this EV seems unlikely to be an expensive E-GMP top hat like the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq series but instead an economical conversion of an ICE model already under production in the country that is dominated by Daihatsu and Toyota. Thus, we expect it to be a Hyundai Staria EV.

For Hyundai India, a different range of locally manufactured Hyundai EVs is in development under a ‘Smart EV‘ project starting with a micro SUV.