New Delhi: India is ready to provide whatever support Tesla wants to set up its electric vehicle manufacturing units in the country, Union Minister for roads and highways, Nitin Gadkari said.
The government may consider lowering import duty along with offering other sops to Tesla if the electronic vehicle major invest in setting up a manufacturing facility in the country, the Union Minister said while speaking at the 'India Today Conclave 2021' on Friday.
The Minister said he has asked Elon Musk-run Tesla to come, manufacture electric cars in the country and also export cars from India. The government will extend all support needed for the manufacturing facility. he said. The minister had said recently that Tesla has a golden opportunity to set up its manufacturing facility in India as the country is bullish on e-vehicles.
Musk recently said on Twitter that he wants to launch cars in India, but the country's import duties on EVs are "highest in the world by far". The EV company had urged the government to lower the import tax on EVs to 40 per cent from 100 per cent. Tesla also has plans to set up its manufacturing unit in Karnataka once the electric car maker gets success with imported cars.
Currently, India levies 100 per cent tax on imported cars of price more than $40,000 (Rs 30 lakh) inclusive of insurance and shipping expenses, and cars less than $40,000 are subject to 60 per cent import tax.
The Union Minister also said with the use of alternative fuel and technology, the Indian automobile sector could be the number one in the world. He said it was his dream to make the Indian automobile sector the leader of the segment in the world.
The minister confidently claimed that the country is going to be the number one in the world by using alternative fuel and technology within five years.
Currently, the premium car market is about 7 per cent of the total car market in India. Without a relaxation on import duty, Tesla will remain premium for the Indian market but not ultra-premium.