Tesla is only interested in selling EVs in India, no plans for manufacturing!
Tesla, one of the biggest electric vehicle (EV) companies, is preparing to start business in India soon. However, this company of billionaire Elon Musk wants to sell only electric cars in the country. Tesla does not plan to manufacture in India.
Minister of Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy told ANI, “Tesla is only interested in opening a showroom right now. The company wants to sell its cars in India. Apart from this, there is no other information about Tesla.” The central government has launched a new portal for international EV companies to invest and manufacture in the country. This is a part of the government’s scheme announced in March last year to promote the manufacturing of electric cars.
The scheme offers to reduce the duty on imported electric vehicles up to $35,000 to 15 percent. However, to take advantage of the import duty exemption, the EV company will have to invest a minimum of $500 million in setting up a factory in the country within three years. In this policy, up to 8,000 cars can be imported annually at reduced duty. The financial eligibility conditions for companies taking advantage of this policy have been made strict. In this, the EV maker will have to achieve a minimum revenue of Rs 50 billion in the fourth year of its business. The company that does not fulfill this condition will have to pay a penalty of up to three percent of the difference in revenue.
According to a Bloomberg report, Tesla’s first showroom in the country can open in Mumbai next month. The company sees a lot of potential for itself in India, the world’s third largest automobile market. In the last few quarters, sales have declined in Tesla’s big markets like Europe and China. After Mumbai, the company’s next showroom can start in Delhi. Tesla dealerships have also imported car accessories, supercharger components, spare parts and merchandise from the US and China. Tesla’s Model Y may be launched in the country initially. This electric car has been seen testing on the roads in the last few months.
