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Tesla, the world’s most popular electric vehicle maker, has secured the approval for three more models from India’s vehicle testing and certification agencies, clearing the decks for their launch in the country.
As per information shared by the Centre-controlled Vahan Sewa, Tesla India Motors and Energy, the India subsidiary of Tesla Inc, has received a homologation certificate for three more models, making it a total of seven models to receive approval.
Homologation certificate
Homologation is a process that certifies a particular vehicle is roadworthy after meeting all the specified criteria. However, it was not immediately clear which models or variants have cleared the homologation process. Multiple test cars of Tesla have been spotted regularly on Indian roads including the Model 3 and Model Y. A mail sent to Tesla seeking comments remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.
Read more: Tesla lobbies India to slash taxes before it enters EV market
While Tesla incorporated its Indian subsidiary in January 2021, it has not made any public announcement with regard to the commercial launch of its fully electric cars here. The US-based EV major, whose India office is based in Bengaluru, has been reportedly lobbying hard for lowered import duty with the Centre.
The government has been pushing for local manufacturing of electric vehicles in an effort to make the country a hub of EV production in the world to rival the current powerhouse China, where more than 70 per cent of the world’s electric cars are made. Import duty on EVs in India is 100 per cent if the CIF (cost insurance and freight) value is more than $40,000 and 60 per cent if the CIF value is less than $40,000. Model Y and Model 3 of Tesla are priced in the range of $38,700-41,200.
Both models made up 90 per cent of Tesla’s volumes in 2020. The balance share of 10 per cent came from Model S and Model X, which are priced in the range of $81,200-91,200.
Since the start of the year, Tesla has been strengthening its manpower in India and has appointed several experienced personnel in top positions. Prashanth Menon, who has been with Tesla for more than four years, is now overseeing Tesla’s operations in India.
Tesla had previously announced that Vaibhav Taneja, David Feinstein and Venkatrangam Sreeram will be responsible for steering Tesla’s operations in India.
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