Start own plant in india
Union Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that Tesla is welcome in India but manufacturing in China and selling in India is “not a digestible concept”.
He said there has been an interaction with the India head of Tesla recently to convince them to set up their own plant here given the country is a huge market. The senior BJP leader was speaking in an interview with CNN News 18 channel.
Many states had openly invited Tesla to open its manufacturing unit after Elon Musk’s tweet last month about Tesla facing problems in entering the Indian market had created a stir. “Tesla is welcome in India, we don’t have any problem. The Indian market is a huge market. The Indian automobile industry’s turnover is Rs 7.5 lakh crore. And all the reputed brands in the whole world — BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Toyota, Volvo, Honda — are here. So there is a huge market,” the Union Minister was quoted as saying.
Tesla has to decide
Gadkari said that Musk was looking to manufacture Tesla cars in China and sell them in India. “We request him that you can start your own plant here. We have all ancillaries available here, you can get quality production here and you can get good sales here. So if you start here, you are welcome, no problem. But manufacturing in China and selling in India is not a digestible concept to all of us,” the Union Minister made it clear. He also revealed that about three-four days ago, he had an interaction with the India head of Tesla and he has tried to convince them. “Ultimately it depends on him to make the decision,” he said.
The electric car maker had also complained of not enough tax benefits on offer in India. “Actually we don’t have one company – we have all the world giants present in the Indian market. If we give one benefit to one company, we have to give that benefit to other companies also. That is the practical problem,” Gadkari said.
