They say that everything old is new again. And that is certainly true when it comes to Indonesia’s long-held ambition to develop a national car. President Prabowo Subianto recently announced that within three years, Indonesia would be producing a home-grown car. Details remain scant, but it’s an idea that periodically resurfaces in Indonesia.
The last high-profile instance was in the 1990s, when former President Suharto (who was at the time Prabowo’s father-in-law) launched PT Timor Putra Nasional, an initiative to develop a national car under the direction of his son Tommy. The Asian Financial Crisis and Suharto’s subsequent fall from power shelved the project. Three decades later, the idea is back.
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