SOUTH TANGERANG, Indonesia —Indonesia’s Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has urged Toyota to move more of its vehicle production from Thailand to Indonesia, offering incentives tailored to the Japanese automaker’s investment needs.
Speaking at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show 2026 in South Tangerang on August 4, Purbaya told senior Toyota executives that Indonesia was prepared to strengthen its partnership with the company and provide sufficient incentives to encourage production relocation. Purbaya said Toyota had overlooked Indonesia as a Southeast Asian manufacturing hub partly because the country had not offered sufficient investment incentives and faced an investment climate that remained less attractive than competing destinations.
He highlighted the importance of the automotive industry to Indonesia’s economy, saying it accounts for around one-fifth of economic activity and provides more than 1.5 million jobs. Installed production capacity is estimated at about 2.5 million vehicles a year. Purbaya also stressed that the automotive sector is closely linked to other industries, including steel, electronics, chemicals, logistics and finance. However, Indonesia still relies heavily on imports of steel, electronic components and chemicals.
He therefore called on Toyota to significantly expand its investment in Indonesia, particularly by developing local supporting industries. “If you can develop more supporting industries here, I will provide sufficient incentives, or perhaps even more,” Purbaya was quoted as saying. The comments were made in the presence of representatives from other automotive companies and officials from Indonesia’s Finance Ministry, according to Tempo English.
