The authorities in India have specifically asked Tesla about its plans/thoughts for importing fully-built cars vs importing semi or fully knocked ones
The electric vehicle market is becoming hotter than ever in India. A report bu Hindustan Times notes that the Tata Group is looking to raise $1 billion for its EV business vertical. This means that Tata is valuing its EV business at $7 billion at the moment.
Notably, Tata’s Nexon EV is one of the highest selling electric passenger cars in the country. The company has plans to transfer its EV portfolio into a step-down subsidiary. The amount raised, most probably, will be pumped into the yet to be forms arm.
“The talks are at an early stage, and several global PE firms, including Blackstone Group, TPG Capital and KKR & Co., have been approached,” one of the two people said seeking anonymity,” Hindustan Times quoted a person saying.
Tesla, on the other hand, has been asked by authorities in India to share its localisation and India-based manufacturing plans. Elon Musk recently had tweeted about the ‘high’ import duties associated with importing electric vehicles in the country.
The authorities in India have specifically asked Tesla about its plans/thoughts for importing fully-built cars vs importing semi or fully knocked ones. Tesla, in the meeting with the authorities has noted that it has invested $100 million in procuring components from India. The company said that these figures will increase after it is allowed with concessions to operate in the Indian market.
Transport Minister of India had recently said that the government of India will ensure that the production cost for Tesla is lower than that of China if the electric cars giant manufactures electric vehicles in India.
As many as 1.56 lakh EVs were sold in the country in 2019-20 (Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles) as against 1.3 lakh units in the previous fiscal. Out of these only 3,400 were electric cars.
