Geely denies reports about intent to build EVs in Indonesia

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group said it will help develop the Malaysian market but has no plan to produce vehicles in Indonesia.

The major private Chinese automaker made the statement this week after Reuters and some Chinese media outlets reported that it intends to build a plant in Indonesia. 

While “exploring opportunities to compete in the Indonesian market, it currently does not have any specific plans to invest and build factories in Indonesia,” Geely said.

“Proton has long been the most important foundation for Geely's development in the ASEAN market, and Geely will continue to deepen cooperation with its strategic partner DRB-HICOM in the future to jointly help Malaysia become an important development engine for new energy vehicles in ASEAN,” the company added.

ASEAN, short for Association of Southeast Asian Nations, consists of ten Southeast Asian countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. 

In 2017, Geely acquired a 49.9 percent stake in Proton from Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom to gain quick access to the Southeast Asia market.

In addition to its own vehicles, Proton’s product lineup includes three rebadged Geely crossovers – the X50, X70 and X90. 

In the first eight months, Proton sold 106,769 vehicles in and outside of Malaysia, a jump of 19 percent from a year earlier, according to Geely.