Tesla could set up its first Indian manufacturing facility in Maharashtra

The electric car company, who is making record breaking revenues each quarter, is all set to enter the Indian market in the coming months. In the meantime, there’s a new rumour surrounding Tesla’s entry to develop electric vehicles in the country itself.

Now, there’s a debate surrounding the fact that whether Tesla will setup its plant in Karnataka or in Maharashtra. As per the the Ministry of Corporate Affairs documents, Tesla is indeed planning to set up its main facility in India in the state of Karnataka.

However, the Industries Minister Subhash Desai of Maharashtra is confident the electric automaker will choose his state. Here’s what he said to Times of India:

“Tesla has not gone to Karnataka. This is a misunderstanding. Tesla has decided to set up a workshop and a showroom there. Such a showroom will also open in Mumbai. They want to start a manufacturing facility in the country. However, before launching a full-fledged manufacturing plant, they want to showcase six electric vehicle models in India to see which of them will get maximum response.”

As said by the minister, Tesla is now setting up strategies to enter the second most populated country in the world but making lot of significant bets. Each country has its own choices and demands, so it Tesla has to cut costs or make significant changes to their already famous budget Tesla Model 3 and decide which car could stand out among the customers.

Already Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra, MG and other companies have already made significant progress in the EV sector at reasonable rates. So, if Tesla doesn’t make good cars at attractive prices, it will be very hard to survive in a budget-minded or say “value for money” oriented country like India.

Also, Tesla has to make a lot of investment to sustain the EV market and bring cars that fulfil the demands of Indian people, its climate, its roads, etc. To elaborate Tesla’s strategy Desai further said:

“So, they are first going to sell. These cars will be brought from the US and Europe and sold here. They will select one of the cars to be manufactured in India for the Indian market and then decide where to set up their manufacturing facility.”

“The decision on where this will be set up is still not taken. Our discussions with Tesla representatives is underway. Aaditya Thackeray (cabinet minister of tourism and environment) and I had a video conference with them. I am sure that they are in the know of the industrial ecosystem in the state. Knowing our commitment to businesses, I am confident that they will choose us.”

Source (via)