Tesla To Scout Sites In India For EV Plant By Late April: Report Tesla officials have been in talks with government officials over the last year, with Musk meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June.
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Tesla, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, will send a team to India this month to scout locations for a proposed USD2 billion to USD3 billion electric car plant.
This comes after India reduced import taxes on certain electric vehicles produced by carmakers that commit to invest at least INR 4,150 crore along with three-year timeframe for starting commercial production.
According to UK's Financial Times the company will send a team from the United States by late April to study sites for the plant, with a focus on states that have automotive hubs such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
Some automakers have plants in Haryana too but Tesla's factory would be at the other three states because they had ports, making it easier to export cars.
Tesla's reported push into India comes at a time when EV demand is slowing and competition heats up in its main markets of the US and China, causing the EV maker to report a drop in first-quarter deliveries and missing estimates.
"Tesla might later also look at setting up its own battery plant, following the "gigafactory" model it has followed at its plants in California, Texas, Berlin, and Shanghai, where suppliers have set up shop next to or near the mother plant," the report said
Musk has been trying to enter the Indian market for years but New Delhi wanted a commitment to local manufacturing. Tesla officials have been in talks with government officials over the last year, with Musk meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June.
The company said in July last year that it was interested in building a factory in India to produce an EV priced at USD24,000. It also called for lower taxes on more expensive models it wants to sell in India.
The EV policy also stated that a localisation level of 25 per cent by the third year and 50 per cent by the fifth year of foray into India is mandatory in order to avail the lower custom duty of 15 per cent on Completely Built Units (CBUs). It would be applicable on cars priced at a minimum value of USD35,000, including cost, insurance and freight charges.
