A Tesla Inc. manufacturing unit to supply vehicles in India is “fairly probably” if the electrical automaker can first start gross sales with imported autos, in line with Elon Musk.

The California-based EV producer is at present lobbying for lower taxes on imports because it considers plans to increase into India, one of many world’s greatest rising automotive markets, individuals with data of the small print instructed Bloomberg on Friday.

“Import duties are the very best on the planet by far of any giant nation,” Musk stated on Twitter, replying to a query in regards to the prospect of gross sales within the nation.

“Furthermore, clear vitality autos are handled the identical as diesel or petrol, which doesn’t appear completely in step with the local weather objectives of India.”

Tesla is hopeful India will provide “not less than a brief tariff reduction for electrical autos,” Musk stated. “If Tesla is ready to succeed with imported autos, then a manufacturing unit in India is sort of probably.”

Tesla has written to India’s transport and trade ministries looking for a discount of import duties on EVs to 40 p.c from the present vary of 60-100%, in line with the individuals with data.

EVs account for lower than 1 p.c of recent passenger autos and two-wheeler gross sales in India, in contrast with about 5 p.c in China, the place Tesla arrange its first manufacturing unit exterior of the U.S. and now dominates the market.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities has dedicated help for the EV trade by subsidies, although elements like sparse charging infrastructure and excessive prices have thus far restricted adoption of electrical fashions.