Ola Says ‘Special Treatment’ To Tesla Not In India’s Favor
As the government has been attempting to promote the rise of domestic leaders in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal claimed that giving Tesla unique benefits in India would not be in the nation’s best interests.
“Tesla is free to come in and set up a shop here and sell its cars,” Aggarwal told the Financial Times. “They simply want to be treated differently from other people, which, in my opinion, is not in India’s best interests,” he said.
Ola’s CEO reiterated the fact that Tesla has not started manufacturing operations in India. Elon Musk earlier tweeted that “Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars.”
Is Tesla coming to India?
Tesla was ready to enter the Indian market, but its request for a reduction in import duties—which may reach up to 100% of the vehicle cost—has resulted in a dispute with the government, which favors local vehicle production. Tesla’s intentions to enter the Indian market have been put on hold as a result.
On May 28, Musk tweeted that he was not interested in building a plant before joining the Indian market. Business Standard said; that Musk’s electric vehicle business has had great success in China, where it assisted in the growth of a fledgling sector. Beijing gave the business rewards in exchange, like tax advantages and low-interest loans.
Many foreign automakers have failed in India, despite the fact that Maruti Suzuki, a subsidiary of Japan’s Suzuki, sells more passenger cars than any other firm. Ford, a US automaker, made the decision to cease production in India in September following years of significant operating losses and the granting of bail to its top directors in India in a case involving alleged cheating.
Prior to manufacturing, Tesla aims to import and sell in India. Governments all across the world have heard of the company’s lobbying efforts for special benefits. Tesla was allowed to launch operations in China without being required to work with a local business partner, despite the fact that this has long been the country’s rule.
Is Ola facing a sales decline?
The producer of electric two-wheelers, Ola Electric, is developing an electric car. A recent event in Bengaluru had a sneak preview of it from Aggarwal.
According to another report from economic times, The company experienced a month-over-month decline in sales due to the recent spate of electric vehicles, including an Ola scooter, catching fire. On June 24, ET reported that Ola Electric was only able to record sales of 130–200 units per day, far short of its goal of generating 10 million.
The business is looking for land across a number of states to build the automobile and produce its own lithium-ion battery cells, which are used for electric power vehicles. At the moment, all Indian EV manufacturers import cells from foreign nations.
