On Monday, India’s government notified the guidelines of a policy announced last March to lure foreign investment in electric vehicle (EV) making, with a five-year window of easy market access as its bait.
A company or group with at least ₹10,000 crore in global auto revenues and ₹3,000 crore invested in fixed assets can soon apply for the benefits of this scheme.
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If an EV-maker pledges to invest ₹4,150 crore in Indian manufacturing facilities within three years, backed by a bank guarantee—and with at least 25% domestic value addition achieved in that span and 50% in two more years—it will annually be allowed to import up to 8,000 four-wheeler EVs worth $35,000 or more (in landed cost) at a tariff of 15% instead of the usual 70%-plus for half a decade.
That’s long enough for an EV maker to test launch its models and decide what to roll off assembly lines.
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German and Korean carmakers are reportedly keen to apply. But Elon Musk’s Tesla, which is gearing up for a soft launch, has not shown interest so far, according to heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
This is ironic. The scheme’s origin lies at least partly in Musk’s complaints of high Indian tariffs.