The company was created as a response to a presidential instruction (Inpres, Instruksi Presiden) regarding the development of the national car industry.

The production facilities used for the manufacturing of these automobiles had to be fully owned by Indonesian interests and the eventual co-operation agreements with foreign automakers must not include commitments limiting the possibility to export.

[2] Later, it was revealed that the Indonesian government approved TPN's production of automobiles in Indonesia more than three months before the announcement in February 1996.

TPN would be granted the 'pioneer' status and the financial support from the government if the company fulfilled the requirement requested by the Minister of Economy to produce 15,000 cars by September 1996.

[6] The car is a badge-engineered Kia Sephia and was initially imported from South Korea as the local manufacturing plant was not built yet.

[7] When the public questioned the practice, Tommy claimed the car was assembled in South Korea by Indonesian migrant workers.

[6] Located in Mandala Putra Industrial Area, Cikampek, West Java, the US$1 billion plant was planned to be built and operated by PT Kia Timor Motors, a joint venture owned 70% by TPN and 30% by Kia Motors and would have the capacity to produce 50,000 cars per year.

During the May 1998 riots in Java, Timor owners would remove the 'T' logos in the hope that they would not be targeted by protesters in order not to be associated with Suharto.

[13][14][15] The company officially ceased to exist on 5 November 2021 after all of its assets were confiscated by the government following a legal decision on Tommy Suharto.

TPN was also ordered to pay the unpaid luxury goods taxes back when they imported the cars tax-free for US$1.3 billion.

Ford Motor Company and Chrysler had to pull their investment from Indonesia, claiming their products wouldn't compete with the government-subsidized Timor.

Meanwhile, General Motors which had already operated a manufacturing plant in the country announced in June 1996 that it would put their future investment plans on hold.

This was a joint venture project between Konsorsium Mobil Indonesia (Indonesian Car Consortium) owned by B. J. Habibie, Millard Design and Orbital Engineering (Australia).

[19] It also sparked a conflict between Tommy and his brother Bambang Trihatmodjo, as Bambang already started a similar project called Bimantara Motor and partnered with Hyundai Motor to build a manufacturing plant in Bekasi, but TPN which had no manufacturing plant was instead appointed by the government as the 'national car pioneer'.

The range consisted of the S515 (SOHC carbureted), S515i (DOHC, fuel injected), and S516i LE (sports-oriented limited edition, licensed by Prodrive).

This item is now considered rare and highly priced by the car enthusiasts, however at the time it was officially sold in Timor dealers.