New Delhi: Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways, on Tuesday said that Tesla Inc, the US electric vehicle maker, is welcome to set up shop in India, make cars there for sale, and export them, but must not import cars from China, according to a report in Reuters.
In a government conference, the Union minister said, “Making in China and selling here (India) is not a good proposition.”
The US electric carmaker is desperate to import and sell its electric vehicles in India. The company, as of now, has for nearly a year lobbied officials in New Delhi to reduce tariffs.
According to company’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk, Indian taxes are among the highest in the world.
However, Tesla’s efforts are still at the loggerheads with the government as the company has not shown any concrete plan to set up factory in India. ‘Make in India’ is the policy adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost local manufacturing and create jobs in the country.
Earlier, the government said that the electric carmaker is yet to present a plan for local manufacturing and procurement from India.
The government, however, has asked Tesla to consider importing so-called knocked-down units or partially built cars that attract low import duty.
A government official in March said that the automaker should follow the lead of domestic companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra which are investing in building local facilities to manufacture electric vehicles in the country.