India woos foreign automakers to boost domestic EV production
India's government has unveiled a plan to woo foreign automakers to build electric vehicles there. India is the world's third-largest auto market.
The government is offering to drastically cut import taxes for foreign automakers who pledge to set up EV factories in India. The deal is available to makers who invest around 500 million dollars or more in new plants.
In return, they can import a limited number of their EVs at a 15 percent rate for five years. Currently, tariffs are upwards of 70 percent.
The plan was originally aimed at attracting Tesla. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with its CEO, Elon Musk, earlier this year in Washington. But the EV giant did not sign on.
The government wants electric vehicles to make up 30 percent of domestic car sales by 2030. EVs accounted for just 2.5 percent of total car sales in fiscal year 2024.
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