Union Heavy Industries Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy reported on Monday that Tesla, the global electric vehicle giant, has shown little interest in manufacturing cars in India; however, the company is keen on establishing showrooms in the country. He mentioned that U.S. President Donald Trump has remarked that if Tesla were to set up a factory in India to sidestep the country's tariffs, it would be deemed "unfair" to the United States. Kumaraswamy explained to reporters that so far, Tesla's intentions seem primarily focused on starting showrooms rather than manufacturing operations in India.
He noted that a representative from Tesla participated only in the initial round of stakeholder discussions for the Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Cars in India, and that they were absent from the subsequent rounds of discussions.
Additionally, he recalled that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had indicated in April of the previous year that his visit to India had been postponed due to the company's numerous commitments.
The minister also announced that global automobile manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz, Skoda-Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Kia, have shown keen interest in manufacturing electric cars in India. This interest was expressed during recent discussions between the government and industry stakeholders about the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India', for which the guidelines were released.
The minister explained that, although the scheme was notified on March 15 of the previous year, the detailed guidelines were only unveiled recently. Officials indicated that the application window for this scheme would open in the coming weeks, leaving it to be seen which companies would proceed with their applications.
Kumaraswamy mentioned to reporters that prominent firms such as Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai, and Kia have already indicated their interest in participating in the scheme. To attract these global manufacturers, he highlighted that approved applicants would be permitted to import Completely Built Units (CBUs) of electric four-wheelers, valued at a minimum Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) of USD 35,000, at a reduced customs duty of 15 per cent for a period of five years from the date of approval.
Moreover, he stated that applicants would be required to make a minimum investment of Rs 4,150 crore in line with the scheme's provisions. The application window, as noted in the Notice Inviting Applications, would be open for an initial period of 120 days, with the Ministry of Heavy Industries retaining the right to extend or reopen the application window as necessary until March 15, 2026.
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Inputs from PTI