You Won’t See Teslas in India Anytime Soon
A habit of protectionism will discourage foreign carmakers and hamstring any attempt to implement China-style EV policies.
See ya!
Photographer: Samuel Corum/BloombergIndia wants to get on the electric vehicle bandwagon, and is introducing China-style policies to pursue its green ambitions. But there’s a wrinkle: its age-old, protectionist instincts, which have kept out international auto companies for decades.
Last month, Elon Musk bemoaned India’s restrictive policies, tweeting that while Tesla Inc. wanted to make cars there, “import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country." Clean energy vehicles were “treated the same as diesel or petrol” ones, he added. Hyundai Motor Co. soon echoed Musk’s complaint, noting that cutting duties on imports of electric vehicles would help “reach some economy of scale in this very price competitive segment."