Tesla, the renowned electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, is on the move of establishing its manufacturing plant in Gujarat. The official announcement is anticipated to be made during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January 2024 in the presence of its CEO Elon Musk, a report said. The Ahmedabad Mirror reported that Gujarat fits in well with Tesla’s export-oriented approach which will cater to both domestic and international demand. Earlier, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were being considered by the company given the well-established ecosystems for electric vehicles and exports.
Gujarat government’s spokesperson Rushikesh Patel expressed considerable optimism about that Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, would consider Gujarat for investment, emphasizing the welcoming stance of the government, reported news agency ANI.
Tesla doesn’t import cars directly into India because of the high tariffs that are levied. The government had said that there is no proposal to provide subsidy on import duty on imports of electric vehicles into the country.
The Indian government wants to cut the number of cars that are imported at a concessional tariff, in comparison to the numbers proposed by Tesla. Tesla was likely to localise up to 20 % of the value of made-in-India cars in two years which would increase to around 40 % in four years.
India currently imposes a 100 % import duty on cars with cost, insurance and freight value exceeding USD 40,000, and 70 % duty on vehicles cheaper than that. To start with, Tesla wants to sell its Model 3, Model Y and a new hatchback in India, which are priced at around Rs 32 lakh, Rs 36 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively in the United States. Should India grant concessional import duty, the prices of Model 3 and Model Y could be around Rs 38 lakh and Rs 43 lakh respectively, says reports.
News agency Bloomberg had reported that Tesla could initially commit to a minimum investment of around USD 2 billion and may increase purchases of auto parts from the nation to as much as USD 15 billion.
