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American electric vehicle giant Tesla had imported components worth $1 billion from Indian companies last year, and this year it is expected to import parts worth $1.7-1.9 billion, the government informed on Wednesday.
Speaking here at the annual session of Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said many of the global companies have already been sourcing automotive components from India, and this will grow in the coming days.
“Lat year, Tesla bought $1 billion of components I think, from all of you sitting here...this year, the target is $1.7 or 1.9 billion. Yesterday, I had a conversation with some of the other auto industry participants, and they also indicated that they had the interest in coming to India and, therefore, I am convinced that this is the future,” he said.
Goyal said the government has been encouraging domestic manufacturing not only for our own consumption, but also for exports, making India an export hub.
“It’s something which we must try to attract...government also has a track record of nine years plus now, where everything we have done had been done equally — without any differentiation, without any preferences,” he said.
Tesla facilty
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, had recently said that the company would soon be setting up a manufacturing base in India after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York.
Meanwhile, when asked about foreign firms looking to invest in India as part of their China plus one strategy, Goyal said global companies are coming to India because of its attractiveness.
“I totally debunk and reject the China plus one theory. That’s not what is going to drive India...India of today stands on its own feet. The India of today has offerings for the rest of the world,” he noted.
India provides them good business environment, skills, managerial talent, a big market, and demand generated by 1.4 billion people, said Goyal, adding that companies around the world have gone beyond the China plus story, and are looking at India as a “trusted partner” and “Indians as people you could trust”.
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