“Hoping for summer this year,” Musk said about his company’s expected launch in India, responding to a query on Twitter.
Tesla’s much anticipated Model 3, which is positioned as a mass-market, affordable car, will be retailed at $35,000 in the US. Some Indians have also booked it by paying an advance of $1,000. The Economic Times newspaper reported in April that Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of mobile wallet company Paytm; venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy; Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of wearable and fitness technology company GOQii; and Sujayath Ali, CEO of online fashion platform Voonik, were among those who tweeted about booking the Model 3.
Sales of electric vehicles in India rose 37.5% to 22,000 units in the year ended 31 March 2016, according to industry lobby group Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles. Just 2,000 units were electric cars. To put that in perspective, non-electric car sales rose 7.87% from the previous year to 2.025 million units in the year ended 31 March 2016, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).
At these levels, India has far to go from the six-million by 2020 target set under National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 and FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles).
An electric vehicle consortium formed by Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd and Ford India Pvt. Ltd has collapsed with Maruti and Ford pulling out of it.
The coming of Tesla will not prop up sales of electric vehicles in India, but it will create an aura that will augur well for the electric vehicles industry, said Abdul Majeed, partner and national auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
No comments:
Post a Comment