Tesla has opened its first showroom in India, as the US battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturer targets the world’s most populous country and the third-largest national vehicle market globally.
The company also launched its first model in the country, the Model Y SUV, with a hefty on-the-road price tag of INR 6,107,190 (US$ 71,000) for the entry-level rear-wheel drive model, rising to INR 6,915,190 for the extended range version. The vehicles are expected to be imported in fully built-up form from the company’s plant in Shanghai, China, with deliveries scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2025.
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Prices are significantly higher than in most other markets around the world, due to India’s import duties of up to 100%, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk has often criticized as being unreasonable.
The Indian government has been trying to entice Tesla to build an assembly plant in the country, which would significantly reduce import duties, but Tesla has so far remained reluctant. The company’s other plants around the world are operating at well under capacity, with more capacity being built in the US state of Texas.
BEV sales currently account for less than 5% of total passenger vehicle sales in India, most of which are models priced much lower than the Model Y. Tesla is understood to be targeting just a few hundred sales per month, but even this will be a hard task given the elevated price tag.
The company is competing in this market with established luxury carmakers including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. VinFast has also begun taking orders in India for its VF6 and VF7 battery-powered SUVs, which will be assembled locally from August.
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By GlobalData
