Tesla debuts in India with a whopping $79,000 Model Y variant
Located in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, an upscale business center in the financial capital of Mumbai, the showroom will serve as Tesla 's flagship retail and experience outlet as the company introduces its EV lineup to Indian customers.
Tesla's entry to India comes after years of delays and policy friction, marking a pivotal expansion in a fast-growing consumer base while global sales are plunging and the company faces challenges in its two core markets, China and the US.
Tesla launched its Model Y in India as the US automaker, grappling with slowing sales, bets on prospects in a country that company boss Elon Musk has long criticised for its high import tariffs. Tesla has begun accepting orders for its Model Y on the company website.
For India, Tesla's entry signals rising investor confidence and strengthens its move towards clean mobility.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, while inaugurating the store, said: 'This is not just the inauguration of an experience centre but a statement that Tesla has arrived, in the right city and state, that is Mumbai, Maharashtra. Mumbai stands for innovation and sustainability.'
With deliveries estimated to start from the third quarter, Tesla is targeting a niche electric vehicle segment in India that accounts for just 4 per cent of overall sales in the world's third-largest car market.
The base price of the Y model is Rs6.78m or $79,000 for the long-range, rear-wheel drive vehicle, according to a presentation by the company. By comparison, the price tag is around $44,990 in the US without a federal tax credit.
The government wants to change that and increase the electric vehicle share to 30 per cent by 2030. Sales of Tesla electric cars fell sharply from April to June as boycotts over Musk 's political views continued, keeping buyers away.
Tesla will compete mainly with German luxury giants such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz rather than domestic mass-market EV players such as Tata Motors and Mahindra.
The company will import cars into a country where tariffs and related duties can exceed 100 per cent, driving up the price for consumers.
Grappling with excess capacity in global factories and declining sales, Tesla has adopted a strategy of selling imported vehicles in India, despite the duties and levies.
The EV maker has long lobbied India for lower import tariffs on cars, and prime minister Narendra Modi's officials remain in talks with US president Donald Trump's administration to lower the levies under a bilateral trade deal.
Musk invited Indians in April 2016 to preorder the upcoming Tesla Model 3. Several customers placed an order but the cars never arrived and the booking amount had to be refunded.
Despite his earlier enthusiasm, in 2019 Musk expressed concern in a post on his social media platform X that import taxes could double prices of Tesla cars, making them 'unaffordable'.
Tesla pressed Indian authorities to cut import taxes on EVs to be able to test the local market, but New Delhi wanted Tesla to set up manufacturing facilities so a comprehensive policy could benefit all the players in the sector.
The dynamics changed after Modi and Musk met in the US in February during the prime minister's state visit.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
LG Energy Solution warns of slowing EV battery demand due to U.S. tariffs, policy headwinds
SEOUL, July 25 (Reuters) - South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution ( opens new tab warned on Friday of a further slowdown in demand by early next year due to U.S. tariffs and policy uncertainties after it posted a quarterly profit jump. Its major customers Tesla TSLA.O and General Motors GM.N warned of fallout from U.S. tariffs and legislation that will end federal subsidies for EV purchases on September 30. "U.S. tariffs and an early end to EV subsidies will put a burden on automakers, potentially leading to vehicle price increases and a slowdown in EV growth in North America," CFO Lee Chang-sil said during a conference call. However, LGES said it expected to improve profits in the second half by boosting production of batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) to offset the sluggish EV demand, while cutting or delaying investment plans. LGES is one of the few U.S. producers of LFP batteries, a battery chemistry long dominated by Chinese rivals. The company said it is considering converting some EV battery production lines in the United States to cater to ESS in response to slowing EV demand. It started production of LFP batteries at its Michigan factory in May, and aims to increase production capacity of ESS batteries to over 30 gigawatt hours (GWh) by next year, up a projected 17 GWh this year. "When LGES operates the plant at full capacity, it could generate subsidies for nearly 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) ... unlike EV batteries, ESS involves selling full systems rather than just battery cells, which drives up average selling prices and margins," said Kang Dong-jin, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities. Kang added that LGES currently stands as the only player in the U.S. market capable of supplying LFP-based ESS, giving it an advantage with virtually no competition. LGES said its operating profit more than doubled in the second quarter, thanks to U.S. subsidies on battery production and stockpiling by some customers there ahead of potential tariffs. It reported an operating profit of 492 billion won ($358.73 million) for the April to June period, versus a profit of 195 billion won a year earlier. LGES would have made a 1.4-billion-won operating profit excluding a tax credit it received under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, LGES said in a regulatory filing. LGES shares were trading down 1.6% after the earnings announcement in morning trade, versus benchmark KOSPI's (.KS11), opens new tab 0.3% rise. ($1 = 1,377.6000 won)
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
India's equity benchmarks to open flat as market weighs UK trade pact
July 25 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks are expected to open little changed on Friday as investors weigh the newly signed trade pact with Britain, which will cut tariffs of goods ranging from textiles to whisky and cars. The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,993.5 points as of 8:04 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 (.NSEI), opens new tab will open near Thursday's close of 25,062.1. "Signing of the India-UK FTA, which is expected to boost bilateral trade by about $34 billion annually, is hugely significant in the present context when India is eager to reach a deal with the U.S. on trade and tariffs," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments. Shares of textiles, automakers, leather, footwear and other companies will be in focus as UK exports become duty-free. While the India-UK agreement should boost sentiment, the market is unlikely to see major upside until there is clarity on U.S. trade negotiations, analysts said. India is making "fantastic" progress in talks with Washington, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Reuters on Thursday, but played down the importance of deadlines. Earlier this week, two Indian government sources said prospects for an interim deal before U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline had dimmed amid deadlock over tariff cuts on key agricultural and dairy products. ** Bajaj Finance ( opens new tab beat analysts' estimate for quarterly profit on Thursday, as healthy loan growth countered a decline in the non-bank lender's asset quality ** Indian Energy Exchange ( opens new tab posts higher revenue and profit for the first quarter, driven by a nearly 15% increase in electricity volume. The stock tanked about 30% on Thursday on the regulator's market coupling norms ** SBI Life Insurance ( opens new tab posts higher profit in June quarter, thanks to healthy premiums from policy renewals
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
EV battery firm LG Energy sees demand slowdown after Q2 profit jump
SEOUL, July 25 (Reuters) - South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution ( opens new tab on Friday warned of a slowdown in demand due to U.S. tariffs and policy uncertainties after it posted a quarterly profit jump. LGES, which supplies Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab and Volkswagen among other automakers, said its operating profit more than doubled in the second quarter, partly due to front-loaded demand as some customers stockpiled batteries ahead of potential U.S. tariffs. It reported an operating profit of 492 billion won ($358.73 million) for the April-June period, versus a 195 billion won profit a year earlier. That compared with a 298 billion won average forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. LGES would have made a 1.4 billion won operating profit excluding a tax credit it received under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, LGES said in a regulatory filing. LGES Shares were down 1.9% after the earnings announcement. Its customers such as GM and Tesla are bracing for further fallout from U.S. tariffs and an additional slowdown in demand for electric vehicles. The United States passed legislation to end federal subsidies for EV purchases on September 30. ($1 = 1,371.5000 won)
