Hyundai Boss Speaks Candidly About Veloz Hybrid Challenger and National Car

KatadataOTO – President Director of Hyundai Indonesia says they will introduce a challenger to the Toyota Veloz hybrid and has submitted a proposal for the national car project.

Ju Hun Lee, President Director of PT Hyundai Motor Indonesia (HMID), spoke out after observing the launch of the Toyota Veloz Hybrid at the Gaikindo Jakarta Auto Week (GJAW) 2025. He admitted that Hyundai has prepared a 1.5-liter hybrid engine.

"We are preparing the engine and it will be used in the next generation Stargazer," explained Lee during a media gathering in Tangerang, Friday (21/11/2025).

However, he has not confirmed when the hybrid-engined Stargazer will be launched as it is closely related to Hyundai's global strategy.

Photo : KatadataOTO

"The Stargazer Hybrid will not be released next year. Hyundai's strategy is different from Japanese manufacturers because we are focused on developing hybrids for the upper segments like the Santa Fe, Palisade, and Tucson," said Lee.

In this regard, Lee also added that he admits there was a strategic error that led to unsatisfactory Stargazer sales.

"I think our focus was wrong. There are the Avanza, Veloz, Xpander, and many others in Indonesia; we were too greedy and wanted to challenge them all. So I think we need to set a main target, whether it's the Avanza, Xpander, or Veloz," said Lee.

Hyundai Submits National Car Proposal

Lee also mentioned Hyundai's desire to participate in the creation of a national car (mobnas), which will be a national project of the Indonesian Government. He stated that his company is offering a 7-seater EV concept as the national car. 

"We have already explained the specifications. It is indeed a bit different from the Government's request. I think they are reviewing our proposal," explained Lee.

He also added that the Indonesian government actually has several designs, for military and passenger cars. For the military vehicle, Hyundai firmly stated it cannot meet the request.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Meanwhile, to fulfill the request for a passenger car design, Lee said Hyundai could not meet the request due to the development timeline. 

"The development would take too long because it starts from scratch, from the design to the development.  So we made a proposal based on what can be done and are still waiting for feedback," said Lee.