Elon Musk’s electric car company Tesla can make its entry in India through direct-to-customer (D2C) business. This means that instead of manufacturing cars in India, the company will import them directly from the US and sell them from its Indian stores.
Because the Government of India can roll out the Electric Vehicle Policy in April this year, in which there is a provision to impose only 15% duty on companies importing electric vehicles. Therefore, the company can plan to set up a manufacturing plant and make cars in India later. Business Today has given this information quoting sources.
The government reduced the import duty from 70% to 15%
The central government approved the EV policy – ‘Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India’ i.e. (SPMEPCI) in March last year under its vision to make India a hub for manufacturing electric vehicles.
In this policy, the government has reduced the import duty from 70% to 15% to allow car companies from around the world to enter the Indian market. Foreign companies can avail this exemption on imports of 8000 cars every year.
Under the rules of the policy, companies will have to invest at least ₹4150 crore and there is no limit on maximum investment. Companies will have to start their manufacturing and commercial production of EVs in India within three years.
Auto companies will have to set up a plant and start production of electric vehicles within 3 years. Also, Domestic Value Addition (DVA) will have to be increased to 50% within 5 years, that is, local sourcing will have to be increased in making electric vehicles. Auto companies will have to increase local sourcing to 25% in the third year and 50% in 5 years.
Tesla did not participate in the discussion on EV
The government recently held discussions with companies on the EV policy, Tesla did not participate in it. But according to reports, the company is keeping an eye on its development. Earlier it was reported that the company has identified a place to set up a plant in Gujarat and Maharashtra in India and is also hiring.
