Jakarta – The Aletra L8 EV, under the umbrella of PT Aletra Mobil Nusantara, has been introduced and sold in Indonesia at a price of around IDR 400 million. Aletra ensures that its production is currently entrusted to the Handal factory in Indonesia. However, Aletra confirms that research and development (R&D) will remain under the control of PT Aletra Mobil Nusantara.
“Our production is with Handal, and the capacity can reach up to 3,000 units per month. So, the R&D is done by us, while production is handled by Handal,” said Joko Purwanto, Technical Director of PT Aletra Mobil Nusantara.
Joko explained why R&D and product development are managed by Aletra and not Handal.
“The investment in R&D in Indonesia is quite significant. It’s located in the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Indonesia. So, it’s pretty high. We’re not just selling cars here; we are also developing cars that are specifically suited to Indonesia, because in the country of origin, the most popular cars are sedans, and the lowest MPVs in China. That’s the opposite of what works in Indonesia,” Joko explained.
So, does Geely play a role in Aletra’s R&D development in Indonesia?
“Does Geely intervene in our R&D? There is strategic involvement from Livan Auto, yes, but they don’t intervene too much. We determine the direction, but they monitor the technology. Since we’re still new, they provide advice, but R&D for Indonesia’s needs is done by us,” said Joko.
It is worth noting that PT Handal Indonesia Motor (HIM) is building a new car assembly factory in Purwakarta, West Java. Their factory in Pondok Ungu, Bekasi, is already full after handling three brands at once: Chery, Neta, and Jetour.
The Handal factory in Purwakarta is much larger than the one in Bekasi. Its production capacity is claimed to be three times higher. The factory is being built in the Integrated Industrial Park (IIP) area in Purwakarta.
“The factory in Purwakarta is three times bigger than the one here. The land area is 38 hectares, while the one here is only 12 hectares. In terms of capacity, if Bekasi has 30,000 units per year, Purwakarta can handle up to 90,000 units per year,” said Denny Siregar, President Director of PT HIM, in Bekasi, West Java, on Friday (May 31).
As a reminder, Handal originally assembled cars made by Hyundai. However, for the past four years, they have become a general assembler, handling the production of several Chinese car brands.
According to Denny at the time, one production line at the Handal factory is dedicated to a single car model. As a result, they have a sufficient number of lines and manpower for production needs. Currently, Handal employs around 300 people.
