The Tesla Model 3 will likely be the first car that the American EV maker will launch in India, and is expected to make its debut in the country in the coming months
Road Transport and Highways Minister, Mr Nitin Gadkari has a made proposal to the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla, to manufacture cars in India rather than just locally assembling them here. The Union Minister has said that India is willing to offer incentives to the EV maker in order to bring the cost of production in India even lower than that currently offered to the American carmaking giant in China.
In an interview with Reuters, Gadkari said, “Rather than assembling (the cars) in India they should make the entire product in the country by hiring local vendors. Then we can give higher concessions.” However, the Union Minister did not give out the details of what incentives would be on offer.
He assured that the production cost for Tesla in India will be the lowest in the entire world if they start manufacturing their cars in the country. Tesla Inc. is all set to commence its operations in India soon, and the American electric vehicle company has even registered its office in Bengaluru.
The first model to be launched by the American manufacturer in India will likely be the Tesla Model 3 sedan. The said car could be launched in India by the end of the first quarter of FY 2021 – 22. We expect the Model 3 to be introduced as a completely built unit (CBU) initially, and the car could be imported from Tesa’s Gigafactory in Shanghai, China.
Talking about the sedan, Tesla offers the Model 3 with three different powertrain options, including Standard Plus, Long Range and Performance. The Standard Plus variant gets a single electric motor along with a rear-wheel-drive configuration. On the other hand, the Long Range and Performance variants both get dual electric motors along with an all-wheel-drive setup.
We expect the company to introduce the Standard Plus variant of the car initially, while the other two variants could follow in the near future. Pricing for the Tesla Model 3 is expected to start from Rs 60 lakh (ex-showroom) onwards. However, the official pricing will be revealed closer to its launch.