Tesla’s rival electric vehicle manufacturer Triton Electric Vehicle announced recently that it is setting up a manufacturing plant in Gujarat, India. It will be its first manufacturing facility in India which will be spread across 600 acres. And the plant will be three million square feet one, as stated by Himanshu Patel, CEO, and founder of Triton.
Earlier Triton’s announcement came at a time when Tesla is yet to enter the Indian market officially. The EV company has been planning to launch imported cars to the Indian market by finding the import duty much higher. It has been in discussion with the Indian government and sought lower import duty. However, the central government has been pushing for a local manufacturing facility, which Tesla is yet to finalize.
So, in this situation setting up a manufacturing plant in India by a Tesla rivaling EV manufacturing company is expected to boost the electric mobility ecosystem of the country. Also, it would boost the Indian electric car market as well. Gujarat is one of the states in India that have already announced a dedicated EV policy. The Triton manufacturing plant would benefit from the Gujarat EV policy.
Telangana
Last year it was known that the company was to set up the plant in Telangana with an Rs.2,100 crores investment. It was announced by the state IT minister, K.T Rama Rao.
Delighted to announce that Triton EV – a leading US based Electric Vehicle company will be investing ₹ 2,100 Crores to establish an ultra-modern EV manufacturing unit at NIMZ, Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district
An MoU is signed between Triton EV & Govt of Telangana today pic.twitter.com/HeHG6wHdw3
— KTR (@KTRBRS) June 24, 2021
Back then, Triton EV’s Chairperson and Managing Director Himanshu Patel claimed that they already have $2.2 billion worth of purchase orders from India. It also stated that the manufacturing facility will produce Triton EVs not only for the Indian market but also for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the entire Middle East region. Notably, rival Tesla is also set to make an entry into India this year and plans to set up a research and development (R&D) unit in Bengaluru.
Unlike Triton, Tesla will only be focusing on selling in the Indian market and not manufacturing here. However, the Indian government has been trying to attract the Elon Musk-led company into manufacturing in the country by giving subsidies and other benefits. Indian transport minister Nitin Gadkari, in an interview with Reuters, said that India is ready to offer incentives to make sure Tesla’s cost of production remains lower than China if the company committed to starting making EVs domestically. However, Tesla has been getting resistance from the government in various aspects. It looks like Triton is ahead in the Indian market.
