Can Elon Musk EVs win the conscious cars buyers of India prices?

After years of speculation, Tesla could finally be making his debut in India.

The American Electric Vehicle (EV) giant has begun to hire a dozen work in Delhi and Mumbai. According to reports, you are also looking for exposure rooms in both cities.

The third largest economy in Asia offers an interesting growth opportunity for futuristic cars in Tesla as Global EV sales collapse and the competition of Chinese manufacturers becomes more intense.

But there is a question of one million dollars: can Tesla compete in the market sensitive to India prices?

Tata Motors currently has the Pole position in the EV market of India, with more than 60% market share. Mg Motors, JSW’s joint property of India and a Chinese company, is second with 22%. They are followed by Mahindra and Mahindra.

The EV made by these companies cost less than half of what consumers will have to disburse, around $ 40,000 (£ 31,637), only for the Tesla base model. Therefore, it will look like a luxury car, which competes with high -end EV made by Hyundai, BMW and Mercedes.

Simply in terms of volume, this will make India a small market for the chief of Tesla Elon Musk, unless the company introduces a low -cost model specifically for the country.

In addition to the price, India road conditions could raise a challenge.

Tesla cars have a very low distance to the ground, or the distance between the lowest point of carbolling train and the floor. This will make adaptation to Indian roads difficult. To operate in the country, existing models may have to re -design, which would increase manufacturing costs.

Will Tesla do this only for a developing market where you could have only a small presence?

“It has been a challenge even with other manufacturers of global original teams (OEM) at the upper end with small volumes. These main engineering changes cannot be justified,” said Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of the Autocar India magazine, to the BBC.

In addition, in the midst of all exaggeration, it is easy to forget that EV sales still represent less than 3% of passenger vehicles in India. Even critical auxiliary infrastructure, such as load stations, has taken years to appear. While they have accumulated rhythm, there are only around 25,000 load stations throughout India.

Indeed, Tesla will push for space in a very small market, although growing.

But at the policy level, India seems to be doing everything possible to court the car manufacturer.

The country has outlined an ambitious national vision to become electric. Plan to have 30% of private cars, 70% of commercial cars, 40% of buses and 80% of two and three wheels are electric for 2030. Most provincial governments have also established their own EV policies to encourage demand and supply.

According to HSBC Securities, the subsidies offered by India in electric cars are the highest among the main economies. They attend up to 46% of the price of the best -selling electric car model.

It is not surprising that EV passenger sales have grown astronomically by more than 2,000% in less than five years, going from a low base of 4,700 per year to 100,000 cars.

“The price difference between cars and regular electric vehicles has greatly reduced, which makes customers rethink their choice,” says Jyoti Gulia, founder of JMK Research.

In April of last year, India also reduced import taxes in EVs for global car manufacturers who promised to invest $ 500 million (£ 400 million) and start local production within three years.

Tesla and other imported electric vehicles More than $ 35,000 (£ 27,550) can now enjoy a lower import tariff in up to 8,000 vehicles. This occurred after Musk complained that high import rights had prevented the company from launching its cars in the most rapidly growing important economy in the world.

“It is quite intelligent, since it forces a global player to locate, so is the way the game works: come and build in India,” says Sorabjee.

However, the proposed policy could put manufacturers of Indian national cars at a disadvantage, since the investment requirement for foreign players “is not significant” compared to Indian players in this segment, warns HSBC research work.

The 15% import tariff is also “much lower” than the comparable combustion motor cars tax in India that also pay an additional road tax, according to HSBC.

National EV players say that having a “level playing field” is important, but they seem imperturbable for the imminent entry of Tesla for now.

“We welcome the competition,” Jejurikar, Mahindra and Mahindra, Executive Director and CEO, told the BBC Rajesh. His company feels that more players will strengthen the existing EV ecosystem of India and is working to improve the attractiveness of their offers.

Critical problems such as “rank anxiety”: the concern of whether the battery charge of an EV will be sufficient to complete a trip, they have been addressed through “solid battery integration and rigorous real world tests in various road conditions,” says Jejurikar, and adds that the brand is displaying cutting technology in its product.

However, it will be difficult to overcome Tesla’s advantage in this area, and together with more resistant batteries and a better user interface, it will undoubtedly differentiate Tesla cars from others in the market, says Sorabjee.

What could also give Tesla Tailwind is the growing part of premium vehicles in the Indian automotive market. As a global brand with a “great quotient” perceived, being the owner of a Tesla will be a status symbol for the young and aspirational Indian population.

But none of this, the EVA policy of India or the growing demand for premium cars among the rich of India, has still led to a Tesla commitment to make dollars of manufacture in an EV installation.

For now, it seems that the car manufacturer will only send units from its factories abroad.

When these changes will depend on many things: the speed with which the consumer base of India is extended and how tariff structures are seen once India completes commercial negotiations with the United States.

President Donald Trump has already expressed his discontent about Tesla potentially building a factory in India to avoid high rates. In an interview with Fox News, he said that this would be “unfair” for the United States.

Could Trump’s “America First America” ​​policy reduce Musk’s appetite for starting manufacturing units in India?

The question is debatable, but for now it seems that India will first get dazzled Tesla exhibition rooms for its rich tesla factories for work creation for their underemployed masses.