Ever since Tesla started expanding to other countries outside their home of the United States of America, they have gained worldwide popularity and they have become the new fad of automobiles that people always seem to talk about and look to drive.
A car that’s electric, functions well, looks sleek, and is equipped with the best technology, features and safety features, what’s not to love about it?
The company recently came to announce that Tesla India has begun to work for the wide Asia Pacific market as they attempt to reach a wider market although they have not commented on whether the company will enter the Indian market yet.
Over the past three years, Tesla has been planning to produce their cars in their manufacturing facilities based in China and import them to India, but they have not initiated this yet. Currently, the import duties that India has set for electric vehicles stand at 100% if the cost insurance and freight value crosses the $ 40,000 USD threshold while it stands at 60% for ones that fall under the $ 40,000 USD mark. Due to this, Tesla is finding it difficult to price their cars in the Indian industry to make the compete with other electric cars and luxury cars as well.
Elon Musk and Tesla have been trying to get the government to reduce these costs by lobbying the union government but their efforts are yet to come to fruition.
Earlier, the government of India along with the Union Transport Minister informed Tesla’s representatives, that the company is more than welcome to set up their manufacturing plants and facilities in India which will negate the import tariffs and they can even export their cars to other country’s markets from India. They will also receive benefits and other monetary perks if they choose to do so.
According to some sources, currently, the Tesla India team is primarily focusing on expanding all throughout the middle east and gulf countries as they have been pin pointed that region as their next hub and they expect they will see great success there.
Tesla is currently the largest and most successful manufacturers of electric vehicles and many experts predict that the company will be very successful in India, but the massive import tariffs is major roadblock for the company as they look to cement themselves as the global leader of electric vehicles. It doesn’t seem like either party will reach a conclusion any time soon even though many Indians are eagerly waiting for their arrival.
