Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on April 26 said if the US-based Tesla Inc. is ready to manufacture electric vehicles in India then there is ‘no problem’ but the company must not import cars from China. In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, the minister said India is a large market and there is a huge potential for all electric vehicles.
“If Elon Musk (Tesla CEO) is ready to manufacture in India then there is no problem … Come to India, start manufacturing, India is a large market they can export from India,” Nitin Gadkari said.
The road transport and highways minister said his request to Musk is to come and manufacture in India. “But if he wants to manufacture in China and sell in India, then it cannot be a good proposition for India,” Gadkari said.
In January, Elon Musk said the US-based EV-maker is facing a ‘lot of challenges’ for its car launch in India, and Tesla is working with the govt to overcome obstacles.
At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 60-100 percent, depending on engine size and cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) value less or above USD 40,000.
Last year, in a letter to the road ministry, Tesla stated that the effective import tariff of 110 percent on vehicles with customs value above USD 40,000 is ”prohibitive” to zero-emission vehicles.
It had requested the government to standardize the tariff on electric cars to 40 percent irrespective of the customs value, and withdraw the social welfare surcharge of 10 percent on electric cars.