Tesla CEO, Elon Musk has confirmed the entry of Tesla into India on a number of occasions, the most recent being earlier this year. Now, the sale has been officially confirmed, not only by Elon Musk himself but also by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The company will mark entry into the country later this year. Bookings are expected to commence in the coming weeks.
Tesla’s Model 3 is expected to be the first Tesla car to go on sale in India. The company is planning to open sales / showrooms in cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, etc. Ahead of launch, the first unit has now been spied testing. As per Tesla Club India, this is a Long Range Dual Motor unit, which has been spied in Pune by Atharva Kawade.
Initial units are expected to be CBUs. Depending on response, the company could then consider local assembly and manufacturing. Tesla has also planned opening of an R&D center and battery manufacturing unit in the country. For a start, sales of Model 3 will be taken care of by the company via digital retailing.
In global markets, Tesla notes majority sales from the Model 3 and Model Y. Model 3 in India is expected to be priced at around Rs.55-60 lakhs. However, if Tesla brings in the Model 3 via CKD, then the lower import duty structure will make this new electric car more affordable, probably within a price range of Rs.35-40 lakhs, ex-sh.
Since Tesla has made massive investments at its Shanghai plant, Model 3 could come in directly from China. Once the company is well established in the country, goes about setting up a plant and commences local production, price of the Model 3 could dip even further, making it more accessible to car buyers in the country.
In US, the Model 3 is offered with various battery options. The base variant gets an electric motor that offers 283 hp power and 450 Nm torque. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is achieved in 5.5 seconds with top speed at 210 km/h and a range of 350 kms.
The top end trim gets an all wheel drive layout. Its electric motor makes 450 hp power and 639 Nm torque. Acceleration to 100 km/h is possible in 3.1 seconds, top speed is at 261 km/h and battery range of 500 kms. The battery of the Tesla Model 3 takes around 6-6.5 hours for full charge while via a fast charger, charging upto 80 percent can be achieved in 30 minutes.
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y accounted for nearly 89 percent of the company total sales in the last quarter. Tesla’s entry into the Indian EV market comes at a time when Mr Gadkari has asserted that India is going to become No.1 manufacturing hub for auto in the next five years.
This post was last modified on June 11, 2021 3:50 pm