The central government is planning to bring a new and comprehensive electric vehicle policy to attract more foreign EV manufacturers to India. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the government is looking forward to more investment from electric vehicle manufacturers around the world to boost local manufacturing as well as boost India's EV industry. This comment comes at a time when the world's largest electric car maker Tesla is planning to enter India with proposals for new plants as well as investment in components.
In an attempt to capture the huge Indian market, Tesla is pushing for the new car, which will be the EV maker's cheapest car ever. Its price is expected to be lower than Tesla's current entry-level model Model 3, which may be around $ 24,000 (approximately Rs 20 lakh). It will be made in India for the Indian market and export. Recently, a high-level Tesla team visited India to discuss its investment plan with Indian government officials. After this, Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the PM's US visit. He has also expressed interest in investing in India including a new plant.
According to news agency Reuters, India is considering reducing import duty on foreign electric cars if EV manufacturers commit to investing in the country. This could be part of the Centre's upcoming EV policy. Piyush Goyal said that the new policy will be prepared after discussion with all the stakeholders. “We will come up with a policy,” he said. As soon as we get production on a large scale, we will start enjoying the fruits of economies of scale of new technologies."
Tesla's interest in India comes almost a year after its CEO practically canceled the plans due to the Centre's stance of not reducing import duties. The Centre's stance has been that no duty concession will be given unless the EV manufacturer commits to investment or local production. This sharp reversal in Tesla's stance is significant because Tesla had several times urged the Center to consider reducing the tax. Tesla's entry in India could open doors for other global EV manufacturers to plan investments here.
(PC: Social media)
