American electric vehicle giant Tesla is finally going to enter the Indian market with its first showroom. According to sources, the company’s first showroom in Mumbai can open by mid-July and from here Tesla’s official sales and operations in India will begin.
The company has brought some units of its best-selling electric SUV Model Y from Shanghai plant in China to India. In the initial phase, the sale of this model will be started at dealerships in Mumbai and Delhi. According to a Bloomberg report, the price of 5 units shipped to India is said to be around Rs 27.7 lakh (about $31,988), on which import duty of up to Rs 21 lakh has been imposed.
The base price of Model Y in the US market is around $44,990 (about ₹ 39 lakh). But after tax credit and subsidy, its effective price there is around ₹ 32 lakh. However, in India it is likely to be launched at around ₹ 50 lakh (ex-showroom). The premium electric segment is still very limited in the country and its share in new car sales is only 2%, so affordable pricing will be a big challenge for the company.
Tesla’s entry into India was stuck for a long time as the company did not agree with the Indian government regarding import duty and local manufacturing. But after the meeting between Tesla chief Elon Musk and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February, the central government released a new EV policy, which provided that if a company sets up a factory in India within three years, it will get relief in import duty.
Tesla has sent not only cars but also some components of its supercharger network to India from the US, China and the Netherlands. Apart from this, spare parts, accessories and merchandise have also been ordered so that sales operations can be fully started in India in the next one month.
This first official presence of Tesla in India is considered an important step not only for the brand but also for the EV ecosystem of the country.
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