Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla has cleared the homologation stage and received approval for all the four models/variants from testing agencies in India. Tesla Club India tweeted that while there is no confirmation on the names yet, these are likely to be Model 3 and Y variants.
BREAKING : Tesla has completed homologation & received approval for 4 of it's vehicle variants in India.
— Tesla Club India® (@TeslaClubIN) August 30, 2021
While we don't have any confirmation on names yet, these are probably Model 3 & Y variants.
Will post more once we have confirmation.#TeslaIndia #TCIN #Tesla pic.twitter.com/ozE5LV1u8Y
Homologation is a process of certifying a particular vehicle as roadworthy after fulfilling all the specified criteria. However, the approval does not signify an immediate launch of Tesla cars in India. Tesla has been asking for a reduction of import duties from the Indian government and is yet to finalise its launch plans.
According to Moneycontrol, import duty on electric vehicles (EV) in India is 100% if CIF (cost, insurance and freight) value is more than $40,000 and 60% if CIF value is less than $40,000. Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 are priced in the range of $38,700 to $41,200 and constitute 90% of Tesla’s volumes in 2020.
India could offer partial customs duty relief to Tesla and has sought the EV maker’s detailed plans for investment in the country, sources privy to the discussions have told the Economic Times (ET). The stakeholder ministries are assessing Tesla’s demand for a lowering of import duty, an official told ET.
ET had earlier reported that the government was agreeable to lower import duty on electric vehicles if the company gives an assurance to start manufacturing in the country. Tesla has sought 40% import duty on fully assembled electric cars compared to the current rate of 60% applicable on cars priced below $40,000. Tesla has raised this issue in a letter to various government ministries and Tesla officials have also met senior government officials on this issue.
Tesla’s call for a reduction in import duty to enter India has been reportedly supported by several government agencies, including the Road Transport ministry, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade and Niti Aayog, with a final decision to be taken by the Finance ministry.
Musk has pointed out the high import duties charged on EVs in India. "We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!" he had tweeted earlier in response to a question on the India launch. "Moreover, clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol, which does not seem entirely consistent with the climate goals of India," he had said.