MUMBAI: Tesla yesterday launched its Model Y at about US$70,000 (RM298,000) in India, the highest price among major markets, as the US automaker grappling with slowing sales bets on prospects in a country CEO Elon Musk has long criticised for its high import tariffs.
With deliveries estimated to start from the third quarter, Tesla is targeting a niche electric vehicle segment in India that accounts for just 4% of overall sales in the world’s third-largest car market.
It will compete mainly with German luxury giants such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz rather than domestic mass-market EV players such as Tata Motors and Mahindra.
Tesla opened its first showroom in Mumbai yesterday and began taking Model Y orders on its website, marking its long-awaited entry into the market where Musk once had plans to open a factory.
For now, Tesla will import cars into a country where tariffs and related duties can exceed 100%, driving up the price for consumers.
Grappling with excess capacity in global factories and declining sales, Tesla has adopted a strategy of selling imported vehicles in India, despite the duties and levies.
The US EV maker has long lobbied India for lower import tariffs on cars, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s officials remain in discussions with US President Donald Trump’s administration to lower the levies under a bilateral trade deal.
But the cars Tesla displayed in Mumbai were made in China, and its US factories do not currently make the right-hand drive vehicles that are used in India.
Tesla’s Model Y rear-wheel drive is priced at about 6 million rupees (US$70,000), while its Model Y long-range rear-wheel drive costs 6.8 million rupees.
That compares with a starting price from US$44,990 in the US, 263,500 yuan (RM155,992) in China, and €45,970 (RM228,250) in Germany.
The firm’s Full Self-Driving capability is on offer at an additional cost of 600,000 rupees, with future updates promised to enable operation with minimal driver intervention. – Reuters
