Tesla India received approval for three more vehicles in the country, according to information from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which is controlled by the national government, known as Centre.
In August, Tesla received homologation certificates for four of its car models. With three more certificates, the EV manufacturer now has seven vehicles approved in India.
The precise Tesla variants that received approval have not been specified. However, there have been sightings of Model 3s and Model Ys on Indian roads. The latest three vehicles with homologations certificates have not been named either.
A few Tesla test units have been regularly navigating through local roads in India. Still, the US-based EV maker has yet to make any serious moves toward local production. Earlier this year, Elon Musk noted that a Tesla factory in India might be possible if Tesla were to succeed with imported vehicles.
Some sources stated that Tesla requested to reduce the import duties of vehicles sent to India by at least 40%, which could help the US company test demand in the country. However, governing officials stated that there is zero chance for a single company, like Tesla, to receive specific incentives.
“The government has made its stance against company-specific incentives clear. This also applies to one particular company requesting industrywide changes to existing policy. Over the past four years, multiple demands were made by a large US-based firm to open up the market at lower import duties as well. Now, they locally produce in India and are ramping up capacity,” said one official.
As per the Hindu Business Line, Centre is pushing for local EV manufacturing to compete with China. Currently, the import duty on EVs in India is 100%, if the cost of insurance and freight (CIF) is more than $40,000 and 60% if the CIF value is less than $40,000.
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