Prabowo Plans to Build Car Factory: Why Must We Remain a Market for Others?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - President Prabowo Subianto plans to open a domestic factory for electric cars and motorcycles so that Indonesia does not continue to become a market for foreign products. “I will open a car factory. Why must we become a market for other people’s cars?” Prabowo stated during a discussion with journalists and experts in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, as quoted from a replay on Kompas TV’s YouTube channel, Friday (20/3/2026). In fact, Indonesia has abundant natural resources to support the automotive industry, such as tin, bauxite, and alumina as raw materials for aluminium. However, limited processing facilities mean these raw materials are instead exported abroad. “We have natural resources to make cars, but they (South Korea) have been making cars decades ahead of us,” he continued. He said the factory to be built would focus on electric vehicles with energy sourced from solar power. “I want total electric and I want electricity from the sun. If we use combustion engines, petrol or diesel cars, we will still depend on imports,” he added. “So, if our strategy is right, with our will, Insya Allah, we can revive industrialisation again,” Prabowo said.