Tesla face lobby la biroul lui Modi din India să reducă taxele înainte ca acesta să intre în sursele pieței

De Aditi Shah și Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Tesla Inc has urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office to slash import taxes on electric vehicles before it enters the market, four sources told Reuters, ratcheting up demands that faced objections from some Indian automakers.

Tesla wants to begin selling imported cars in India this year but says taxes in the country are among the highest in the world. Its request for tax cuts – first reported by Reuters in July – prompted objections from several local players, who say such a move would deter investment in domestic de fabricaţie.

Tesla executives, including its head of policy in India, Manuj Khurana, took the company’s demands to Modi’s officials last month in a closed-door meeting, arguing that the taxes were too high, four sources familiar with the discussions said.

During the meeting at Modi’s office, Tesla said that India’s duty structure would not make its business in the country a “viable proposition”, according to one of the sources.

India percepe o taxă de import de 60% pentru vehiculele electrice care costă 40,000 USD sau mai puțin și taxe de 100% pentru cele cu prețuri de peste 40,000 USD. Analistii au spus ca la aceste rate masinile Tesla ar deveni mult prea costisitoare pentru cumparatori si le-ar putea limita vanzarile.

Tesla a depus, de asemenea, separat o solicitare pentru o întâlnire între directorul său executiv, Elon Musk, și Modi, au spus trei dintre surse.

Modi’s office and Tesla, as well as its executive Khurana, did not respond to a request for comment.

It is not clear what Modi’s office specifically told Tesla in response, but the four sources told Reuters government officials are divided over the U.S. automaker’s demands. Some officials want the company to commit to local de fabricaţie înainte de a lua în considerare orice reduceri de taxe de import.

Îngrijorarea cu privire la impactul asupra industriei auto locale cântărește și asupra guvernului, au adăugat sursele.

Indian companies such as Tata Motors, which recently raised $1 billion from investors including TPG to boost EV production locally, has said giving Tesla concessions would be contrary to India’s plans to boost domestic EV manufacturing.

One of the sources, who has direct knowledge of the government’s thinking, said: “If Tesla was the only EV maker, decreasing duties would have worked. But there are others.”

Ministrul transporturilor a spus în această lună că Tesla nu ar trebui să vândă mașini fabricate în China în India și ar trebui să producă local, dar Tesla a indicat că dorește mai întâi să experimenteze importurile.

Musk said on Twitter in July that “if Tesla is able to succeed with imported vehicles, then a factory in India is quite likely.”

Piața indiană pentru vehiculele electrice premium este încă la început, iar infrastructura de încărcare este limitată. Doar 5,000 din cele 2.4 milioane de mașini vândute în India anul trecut au fost electrice.

One government official said lowering duties for a limited period to pave the way for Tesla’s entry could “boost India’s investor friendly image and green credentials” while also attracting more investments.

(Reportaj de Aditi Shah; editat de Philippa Fletcher)

Credit de imagine: Reuters

Sursa: https://datafloq.com/read/tesla-lobbies-modis-office-india-slash-taxes-enters-market-sources/18787