Kei car for ASEAN: Mitsubishi to produce ek X EV in Indonesia
Mitsubishi to locally assemble EVs in Indonesia, will PH get them?
Earlier this year, Mitsubishi announced that starting in 2024, the automaker will start building the Minicab MiEV Kei car commercial EV in Indonesia. This marks the first time the all-electric commercial Kei car will be built outside Japan. More importantly, this also means that the Minicab MiEV will be offered to ASEAN markets.
With Indonesia undergoing an electrification boom, it's no wonder Mitsubishi decided to let Indonesia build its electric commercial Kei car. In the future, the Minicab MiEV will be joined by the eK X EV electric Kei car. You read right, Mitsubishi's latest electric passenger car will be locally assembled in Indonesia.
According to our friends over at Paultan, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) president & CEO Takao Kato announced that they will CKD (complete knock-down) locally assemble EVs in Indonesia, and it's set to happen very soon. Kato added that MMC is currently pilot studying the production of the Minicab MiEV which is set to begin production at the company's Bekasi plant within the fiscal year. As for the eK X EV, local production as well as a local launch is already in the cards.
“We will hold acceptability research and get customer feedback as we work towards the widespread use of EVs in Indonesia,” added Kato.
The exact specifications for the Indonesian-spec eK X EV are not yet available at this time. However, it may likely be similar to what Japan already gets. Revealed last year in Japan alongside its Nissan Sakura twin, the eK X EV has a floor-mounted 20 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers up to 180 km on a full charge. It then powers an electric motor that puts out a humble 64 PS and 195 Nm of torque.
Its battery can be fully charged in 8 hours with an AC charger although it can be charged quicker via a 30 kW DC unit – allowing it to be recharged to 80% in only 40 minutes. Should there be a blackout, the eK X EV has vehicle-to-home (V2H) or vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability which can power external devices or gadgets if needed.
With Indonesia set to locally assemble both the ek X EV and Minicab MiEV soon, we're keeping our fingers crossed that Mitsubishi brings it here to the Philippines to expand our electrified choices.
