After Modi-Musk meet in US, Mercedes-Benz says Tesla shouldn't get special concessions to manufacture cars in India
Luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has stated that India should not provide any special or exclusive privileges to electric car maker Tesla, media reports said.
This statement from Mercedes follows billionaire Elon Musk's expressed desire to bring Tesla to India at the earliest opportunity during a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"There should be a level-playing field. As long as the concessions are uniform for all the players and are applied equally to everyone, it should be fine," Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO of Mercedes, told the Times of India.
"Mercedes, which has been in India for the last 28 years and has a factory outside Pune, said that “fair spirit” should be followed even as the government tries hard to make Musk commit investments," the report added.
Mercedes-Benz, which recently introduced the SL55 roadster in India with a price of Rs 2.4 crore (ex-showroom, pan India), assembles the majority of its vehicles in Pune, including electric models like the EQS saloon.
Similarly, other Indian automakers such as Maruti and Ola have also expressed their opposition to granting any special benefits to Tesla.
Tesla has been requesting concessions on import duties in order to bring its cars to India. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the "challenges" and the high level of import duty in India.
In May of this year, Tesla sent a team to engage in discussions with government officials after initially abandoning its plans in the previous year.
Talks between Tesla and India reached an impasse last year when the Indian government insisted that the company sell locally-made cars, while Tesla wanted to initially import vehicles at lower taxes to assess market demand. India did not allow Tesla to bring cars from its factory in Shanghai into the country.
According to Bloomberg's report in May this year, Tesla is prioritizing understanding local policies and incentives for the electric vehicle industry in India before finalizing its plans for the country.
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier stated that Tesla is welcome to produce electric vehicles in India, but emphasized that they should not import the vehicles from China. The minister made it clear that India is looking to boost local manufacturing to support its Make in India initiative.
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