On December 13, India's road transport and highway department disclosed the information that three Tesla models were approved for sale in the local area.
It is reported that Tesla India recently declared 3 new models in India, counting the 4 models declared in August this year, Tesla has so far received sales approval for 7 models in India. At present, no specific models that have been certified have been disclosed, but they are both Model 3 and Model Y models.
With tesla's official announcement of the official cancellation of the Model Y after-driving long-range model, there are exactly 7 models in the current Tesla Model 3 and Model Y product sequences.
They are:
Model 3 standard endurance version, rear-drive long-range version, four-wheel drive long-range version, performance high-performance version;
Model Y Standard Endurance Edition, 4WD Long Endurance Edition, Performance High Performance Edition.
Previously, tesla model 3 test cars have been on the roads of India. The vehicles are in the form of a right-hand drive, in line with local driving habits. And judging by the distance between the wheel arch and the tires, it is likely that these test vehicles have raised the chassis height to adapt to the local road conditions in India.
Still, the world's leading electric vehicle maker still doesn't seem to have reached an agreement with India on "whether to produce locally" and reduce tariffs. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pointed out that if Tesla succeeds in importing cars, it is possible for Tesla to build a factory in India.
As early as the beginning of this year, India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari had made a strong overture to Tesla, welcoming Tesla to india to produce and willing to provide incentives to ensure that Tesla's production costs in India are lower than in China.
But as we all know, the price of domestic Teslas made in China is almost the lowest in the world, and even lower than the Origin United States. Although India has lower human and material costs, electric vehicles are not popular in the local area and cannot bring price advantages through sales increases.
The cost of Tesla that China knows can continue to decline, thanks to the localization of parts, the continuous optimization and improvement of the supply chain, the continuous improvement of production efficiency, and the reduction of marginal costs brought about by sales increases, but these are almost impossible to achieve in India in the short term.
Previously, Tesla and Musk were trying to persuade India to reduce tariffs on imported electric vehicles by at least 40%, but there are still opposition to this. Without lowering tariffs, the starting price of the Tesla Model 3 entering the Indian market is likely to exceed Rs 5.5 million (about 460,000 yuan), which is almost twice the price of the Chinese-made Model 3.