2024-08-13 03:38:01
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In April 2016, Musk invited Indians to pre-order Tesla’s new Model 3. Vishal Gondal was one of the first to sign up, putting down a $1,000 deposit for a car that never arrived.
Gundar, the founder and CEO of a health-tech startup called GOQii in India’s financial capital Mumbai, is unsure when the automaker will arrive in the Asian country or how much the vehicle will ultimately cost. How many. But Musk’s admirers are excited about the Model 3 and willing to wait.
In the eight years since Tesla initially committed to selling cars in India, other manufacturers have launched their own electric vehicles. But the U.S. automaker has not complied, apparently out of concern that the taxes would make cars too expensive in India and make it more difficult to build a factory there if it decided to move production away from China.
For six years, without Tesla and without a clear explanation of the company’s plans for India, Gondal bought an electric SUV made by German automaker Audi. In January 2023, he received $1,000 with support from a friend who helped him find a Tesla sales manager in India.
India is the world’s third-largest automobile market, after China and the United States. But it’s unique. The average price of a car sold in India in 2023 will be $14,000, compared with $47,000 in the United States. In the United States, you can buy a new Tesla 3 for about $40,000. This is the price of a luxury car in India and buyers will demand excellent after-sales service.
“I think Tesla can be a great technology company. But they just don’t know how to sell luxury cars,” Gondal said.
Since then, other automakers that have been selling luxury cars in India have also started selling electric vehicles. Hemant Suthar, director of Mumbai Design Studio, also booked a Tesla in 2016 and eventually received a refund in 2023. Competes with some of the most luxurious electric vehicles available.
In order to attract automakers such as Tesla while protecting automakers such as Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki, India will reduce import taxes on low-priced electric vehicles from 70%-100% to 15% in March 2024, as long as manufacturers commit Production.
Despite previous enthusiasm, Musk expressed concern in 2019 that import taxes could double the price of Indian-made Teslas, making them “unaffordable.” Many in India had expected Musk to announce plans to build a factory there in April, but he canceled his planned trip at the last minute, saying he had “very heavy obligations at Tesla.”
Tesla did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The market for electric vehicles in India and elsewhere has changed dramatically over the past five years, as has Tesla’s position since it built massive factories in China, Germany and the United States. Sales are slowing, and its only new product, the Cybertruck EV, has been largely lacking in markets outside the United States, resulting in two consecutive quarters of global sales declines compared with the same period last year.
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AP’s climate and environment reporting receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The Associated Press is solely responsible for all content.
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