On May 17th, according to Reuters, a source revealed that electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla proposed a plan to Indian government officials on Wednesday to build an electric vehicle factory in India, aiming to manufacture electric vehicles for domestic sales and exports. Tesla declined to comment on this.
The source said that Tesla did not discuss the issue of reducing import taxes on electric vehicles with the Indian government. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Tesla’s senior executives met with government officials in India this week to discuss issues such as local procurement of parts.
Tesla’s renewed interest in the Indian market comes after almost a year of abandoning plans to sell cars in the country. Due to the inability to obtain lower import tariffs, the company’s CEO Elon Musk once stated that India’s import tariffs are one of the highest in the world. Local procurement is in line with Prime Minister Modi’s “Make in India” campaign to attract manufacturers, especially when companies are seeking to diversify their supply chains.
