Tesla to Expand Presence in India, Third Showroom to Open in Bengaluru
Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla will soon open its third showroom in India. The new showroom will be located in Bengaluru. Tesla began its business in India last July with a showroom in Mumbai. This was followed by the opening of its second showroom in the capital city, Delhi.
A media report suggests that the Tesla showroom in Bengaluru may have four Supercharger stations. Currently, the company only offers its Model Y for sale in India. This electric SUV is available in two variants: Rear-Wheel Drive and Long-Range Rear-Wheel Drive. The starting price of the Model Y is ₹59.89 lakh. The Long-Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant is priced at ₹67.89 lakh. The All-Wheel Drive (AWD) variant of the Model Y is also available in international markets. The Rear-Wheel Drive variant of the Model Y has a range of approximately 500 kilometers on a single charge and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. The Long-Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant has a range of slightly over 620 kilometers and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds.
The company may soon offer autonomous driving features in India, although customers will have to pay an additional charge for this. Tesla’s sales in India have been lower than expected. The company sold 225 units in the country last year. Due to high tariffs in India, the prices of the Model Y are higher compared to other international markets, which has impacted the company’s sales. Recently, Tesla launched its first charging station in Gurugram. This charging station has four V4 Superchargers with a peak speed of 250 kW, along with three 11 kW Destination Chargers. This allows the Model Y to be charged for approximately 275 kilometers of range in 15 minutes. Tesla customers can get information about charging on the company’s app.
Last year, China’s BYD surpassed Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs). Tesla is facing tough competition from Chinese EV manufacturers. Last year, Tesla’s sales fell by nearly nine percent to approximately 1.64 million units. This marks the second consecutive year of declining sales for the company. BYD’s sales of battery-powered vehicles increased by approximately 28 percent to more than 2.25 million units.
