The Ahmedabad Mirror reported that Gujarat fits in well with Tesla’s export-oriented approach which will cater to both domestic and international demand.
Earlier, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were being considered by the company given the well-established ecosystems for electric vehicles and exports.
Tesla doesn’t import cars directly into India because of the high tariffs that are levied.
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Tesla was willing to invest up to $2 billion to set up a local factory in India if the government were to provide a concessional duty of 15 per cent on imported vehicles during its first two years of operations in India, ET had reported in November. The Indian government wants to cut the number of cars that are imported at a concessional tariff, in comparison to the numbers proposed by Tesla. Tesla was likely to localise up to 20 per cent of the value of made-in-India cars in two years which would increase to around 40 per cent in four years.India currently imposes a 100 per cent import duty on cars with cost, insurance and freight value exceeding $40,000, and 70 per cent duty on vehicles cheaper than that.
To start with, Tesla wants to sell its Model 3, Model Y and a new hatchback in India, which are priced at around Rs 32 lakh, Rs 36 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively in the United States. Should India grant concessional import duty, the prices of Model 3 and Model Y could be around Rs 38 lakh and Rs 43 lakh respectively, ET reported.
News agency Bloomberg had reported that Tesla could initially commit to a minimum investment of around $ 2 billion and may increase purchases of auto parts from the nation to as much as $15 billion.
