The ‘Bharat Cleantech Manufacturing Platform’ was launched by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. In order to promote cleantech manufacturing in the nation across industries like solar, wind, hydrogen, and battery storage, the platform will attempt to bring together players from policy, industry, finance, and research. The project was created to strengthen India’s cleantech value chain, according to an official release. Goyal made the announcement of the new platform on January 11, during the Bharat Climate Forum 2025 event in New Delhi. The minister also encouraged the audience to “think innovatively and increase manufacturing scale” in the nation during his remarks. According to him, the platform’s launch will give Indian businesses a chance to work together and co-innovate. He went on to say that the new project will provide a way to exchange resources, ideas, and technology as well as to finance projects. According to him, this would make India a compelling commercial case and a world leader in cleantech and sustainability.
The Sprawling Nexus of Cleantech Startups
Goyal also stated during the launch that subsidies and production-linked incentives (PLIs) are harmful to the renewable energy industry’s long-term expansion. The trade minister stated that the cleantech industry should aim to become self-sustaining and “independent of the government,” adding that such measures were crucial to only help launch the sector. The remarks coincide with the emergence of numerous cleantech startup companies in India to tackle environmental issues and develop creative ways to strike a balance between the demands of sustainability and economic growth. Electric cars, rooftop solar energy harvesting, organic waste management, and even air and water purification are some of these services.
Encouraged by the government’s initiative, PLI, and businesses’ increasing emphasis on environmentally responsible practices, the sector has also seen a substantial increase in investor interest. With $829 million raised from 75 agreements, the Indian cleantech ecosystem ranked as the sixth most funded industry in 2024.
Investors Pouring Funds in Cleantech Startup Sector
SolarSquare, a firm providing rooftop solar solutions, raised $40 million in its Series B fundraising round in December, with Lightspeed leading the deal. Last month, Zunroof also raised over $2.3 million in a round headed by ANBG Enterprise LLP, the Godrej family office. Kazam, a cleantech firm, raised $8 million in its Series A3 fundraising round in August of last year. Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India led the deal. India Accelerator launched a new vertical last year to support Indian cleantech firms, demonstrating the level of interest in the industry. All things considered, by 2040, the Indian cleantech market might be worth $41 billion.
Every week, it seems like a new startup wants to be a leader in the autonomous driving sector. Interestingly, most startups that want to lead this industry don’t have an option to buy their technology from companies like Waymo and General Motors. This means that these new startups need to develop the technology themselves. This is why so many startups are entering the autonomous driving market and why the sector is growing so quickly. Quite a few companies are creating autonomous driving technology, and they certainly aren’t all going to survive, though. Instead of trying to persuade you about who the best companies are, We’ve narrowed down our list of the most prominent autonomous driving startups in the US. Here you go!
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States
Waymo – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
In the race to develop a self-driving car, it’s hard to talk about autonomous driving startups without mentioning Waymo. Waymo is not a car company. It’s a self-driving technology company. And it’s the most well-funded of all the autonomous vehicle startups out there. The company started life as an independent entity named Google Self-Driving Car Project before becoming a subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc. in December 2016.
Waymo is the undisputed leader in autonomous vehicles, with over 3 million miles driven on public roads and another 5 billion miles driven in computer simulations every year. In 2016, the company introduced its first fully driverless car prototype — a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan equipped with Waymo’s proprietary sensors and software.
The company maintains that its objective is building a self-driving car that can operate safely, reliably, and successfully. As part of this effort, Waymo has made its software and hardware stack open source and is working with partners such as Jaguar to bring new self-driving cars to market.
Waymo Driverless Car
Cruise
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Cruise – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
Cruise is one of the most well-known autonomous vehicle startups in the US. The startup has raised nearly $6 billion in funding and is currently valued at almost $20 billion.
The Cruise was founded in 2013 in San Francisco, California, by Daniel Kan and Kyle Vogt. It began as an autonomous vehicle company specializing in self-driving car hardware and software. Still, it evolved into a company that exists to develop autonomous vehicles for mass production and use.
The startup’s mission is “to bring safe, clean, and affordable transportation to everyone, everywhere.” Cruise has developed a self-driving system that can be applied to multiple vehicle platforms to achieve its mission. It also created a Cruise Anywhere app that allows users to summon self-driving cars from their smartphones. GM acquired Cruise Automation in 2016 for over $1 billion.
In 2018, General Motors invested another $2.25 billion into Cruise Automation to increase its equity stake to 75%. In February 2019, Honda announced it would invest $2.75 billion into the startup and take a 5% stake in Cruise Automation.
Zoox
Headquarters: Foster City, California, United States
Zoox – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
This startup is a pioneer in the autonomous vehicles space. It is developing a self-driving ride-hailing service using its driverless electric vehicle. The vehicle doesn’t have a steering wheel or pedals and is designed to carry up to four passengers and travel 75 mph. The company envisions its autonomous driving service as an on-demand mobility solution that provides consumers with safe, low-cost urban transportation around the clock.
Zoox has a different objective from other autonomous driving companies. It’s not just making “an SAE Level 4 self-driving car.” Instead, it is building a fully autonomous, zero-emissions vehicle designed for ride-hailing that seats four passengers in a way that makes them face each other.
Unlike traditional self-driving cars, Zoox’s vehicle is bi-directional. As a result, it can drive forward and backwards in the same direction, enabling it to do more efficient U-turns.
Zoox was founded by Tim Kentley-Klay and Jesse Levinson in 2014 and has raised $290 million from investors including DFJ, Lux Capital, Greylock Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Blackbird Ventures.
May Mobility – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
One of the first movers in autonomous vehicles for public transportation, May Mobility is a startup already operating a fleet of driverless shuttles in downtown Detroit. The company’s primary focus is “first- and last-mile” transport — connecting people who live or work on the outskirts of a city with public transit hubs like train stations or bus stops.
The company first raised seed capital in 2017 and has since raised an additional $11.55 million — including a Series A round led by BMW Ventures in 2018 and a follow-on round led by Toyota AI Ventures and Maven Ventures in 2019.
May Mobility launched its first commercial service this summer, carrying passengers between two parking lots at the University of Michigan’s Mcity facility for autonomous vehicle testing. In addition, it partnered with the Detroit Department of Transportation to launch a shuttle service that moves commuters from the city’s QLINE rail line to their nearby offices each morning.
Aurora
Headquarters: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Aurora – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
Aurora is the only company on this list that’s not actively pursuing a product. Instead, it’s building the tools used to build self-driving cars. Aurora aims to create an open platform for self-driving tech, which it will license to other companies. That means Aurora isn’t aiming to compete with any of the companies on this list. Instead, its goal is to help them all succeed in their efforts.
Aurora is on a mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly. Self-driving technology could save hundreds of thousands of lives and remake cities.
Their safe and pragmatic approach is to build self-driving technology that will move people and goods worldwide one day. They bring together an incredible team with diverse backgrounds and experiences with a singular objective – to deliver on the promise of self-driving technology.
Aurora is working with several partners, including VW Group and Hyundai, and ride-hailing companies like Lyft and Uber. The company’s biggest claim to fame came in 2019 when it acquired Uber’s ATG division in a deal worth $4 billion.
Aurora has raised more than $1 billion in funding from investors like Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners.
Nuro
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States
Nuro – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
Nuro is one of the most prominent autonomous driving startups in the US. The startup was founded by two former Google engineers, Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu, in 2016. In June 2018, the company was granted a permit to test self-driving vehicles on California’s public roads in June 2018.
Nuro aims to build a self-driving vehicle that can help people with their daily tasks. Unlike most other autonomous driving startups, Nuro doesn’t aim to revolutionize personal mobility; instead, it tries to enhance the efficiency of delivery services. The company demonstrated its prototype in 2017, which didn’t have a driver’s cabin as any human operator would have limited the vehicle’s potential.
Nuro’s mission is to make local commerce more convenient for everyone through the instant delivery of goods and groceries.
Lyft
Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Lyft – Top Autonomous Driving Startups in The US
Lyft is perhaps the most aggressive startup in autonomous driving technology.
The company put down a $300 million investment in the self-driving car startup Drive.ai to put the startup’s technology in Lyft cars by 2022. The two companies expect to launch test programs over the next three years as they work to integrate the technology into Lyft’s fleet.
Lyft also partnered with Waymo, Alphabet’s subsidiary developing self-driving cars, back in 2017 and has been allowing Waymo’s autonomous vehicles on its ride-hailing platform since then.
Lyft’s objective is to build an open-source autonomous driving system that will allow any car manufacturer to integrate it into their vehicles for free. To achieve this goal, Lyft has been working on gathering the necessary data and building a high-definition map that will help self-driving cars understand the roads they travel on.”
The company said it extends the program across more cities and even allows riders to hail vehicles without a safety driver.
Autonomous driving tech will be advancing rapidly over the next few years. These companies are among the leaders in this field.
There are a lot of companies poised to do something big in the world of autonomous driving. As with any major technological trend, it’s important to keep a close eye on the companies in this space. As they grow, they could emerge as some of the most powerful players in the massive field of autonomous driving. The next decade will likely see many of them launch exciting new products and services and maybe even be acquired by some big tech giants. Don’t be surprised if Apple or Google snaps up one or more of these companies, although there’s no reason to believe that they won’t continue growing on their own just as well. In any case, it’s important to keep your eye on these startups to see how they’re faring in years to come.
FAQs
Which are the top autonomous driving startups in the US?
Most prominent autonomous driving startups in the US are:
Cruise
Zoox
May Mobility
Aurora
Nuro
Waymo
Lyft
Which company is leading autonomous driving?
Top companies that develop AI for self-driving cars are:
Cruise
Waymo
Agro.ai.
Is self-driving market growing?
According to researched data, the self-driving market is projected to grow from $54.23 billion to approximately $555.67 billion in 7 years.
What company makes chips for self-driving vehicles?
Companies that make chips for self-driving vehicles are:
The world is moving really fast. It was never in history that we had the luxury to learn about anything in the world from the comfort of our homes. The information that we deal with (on a daily basis) is immense. All of this just doesn’t come up out of the blue, it has a price that we pay every day. The price is some of the other natural resources or some non-replenishable resource. But now the world is witnessing the shift. The shift from non-sustainable methods of human activities to more sustainable methods.
One of the pioneers of such a transition is EVs. It is an acronym for Electric Vehicles. It is forecasted that these cars (or vehicles) will be the future of not just public transport but will be the future of private transportation as well. With that being said, everyone is trying to get into the business of EVs. Every other car manufacturer is making their cars electric.
In an immensely population-dense country, India, the sector is getting ready to launch. Top-notch companies are planning to disrupt this market with some innovation. Except for one carmaker, Maruti Suzuki. The largest carmaker in India will refrain from entering the electric vehicles market in India. This article talks about what are (and could) be the reasons for such waste of potential.
Maruti Suzuki Plans about launching EV in the Indian Market
First, let us give you some context. It has been reported that the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki has plans that they will not enter the electric vehicles markets in the short term. This trend of refraining will continue till the market is feasible. Chairman R C Bhargava told shareholders at the company’s 40th annual general meeting.
Yes, this news surfaced all over the internet. It shook not only the investors but people who had hopes for the company to launch EV. Adding to the news, RC Bhargava, the chairman, told the investors and shareholders that the carmaker has no plans to enter the EV market in the short term. They will only enter the market when the market will show some feasibility in the future. This was seen as the main highlight of the 40th annual general meeting that was held last year.
Adding to the notion of not entering the EV Market, Bhargava said the government’s focus is on developing the two-wheelers with the primary goal of electrification.
In the product segment of two-wheelers, Hero and Ola have been innovating. We all know that Hero is trying its best to enter the electric vehicle market and on the other hand it is developing infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.
Ola, the ride-sharing and taxi service startup is also looking forward to an electric future, so much so that they recently launched their product called the “Ola Electric”. Ola electric is a two-wheeler that runs on electricity. Thus, apart from the product segments of the two-wheeler category, remains the passenger vehicle segment. This is the primary market of Maruti Suzuki and they are quite unaffected by the newborn electric vehicles in this segment.
Bhargava added that they know that the sale volume is minimal and it is not in much of a magnitude. This easily predicts that folks at Maruti Suzuki are trying to play it safe rather than just jump on what is the hottest trend in the market right now.
In the passenger vehicles segment, a few manufacturers have brought EVs, “but the sales volume is minimal, and it has had no impact on the market share of Maruti Suzuki,” Bhargava said.
Annual EV Sales in India
Another fact that is baffling the EV enthusiasts is that other vehicle makers like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra are already running fast in the EV race.
Tata Nexon EV
They are so much into Electric vehicles that they have already manufactured a little over a dozen battery-powered vehicles. That trend in those carmakers can be seen among various product segments.
They are even forecasted to be more active in the market in the short future. Up till 2025, they will lead the Indian Electric Vehicles market by much more than the then-newcomer in the EV market, Maruti Suzuki.
Why is Maruti Suzuki Refraining from the EV Market?
When asked why the country’s topmost car maker is refraining from the EV market they replied with a rather satisfactory answer. Bhargava mentioned that Maruti Suzuki is currently planning to focus on the Electric vehicle segment, without making a loss on its basic and natural operating cycle. This was what he replied when investors enquired about the Electric vehicle segment.
In response to queries from several shareholders, Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki is looking at the electric vehicle (EV) segment without making a loss on operations.
“Maruti Suzuki is the leader in the passenger vehicle industry, and it fully intends to have leadership in EVs. But to be sure, Maruti Suzuki’s focus in the short term is CNG and hybrid vehicles – until the time EVs reach a certain scale. On its part, the company’s sister arm – Suzuki – and Denso and Toshiba, have already started working on localization of lithium-ion cells and engaging with the vendor fraternity to have a deeper localization to deliver an EV “that is accessible and delivers enough scale to add to the bottom line.” he added
After the statements by Maruti’s Chairman, one thing is clear that Maruti Suzuki has hopes for electric vehicles, but it doesn’t want to just jump right into the trend. It is waiting for a little more stabilised market in the Electric vehicle market and until then, Maruti is cleansing the company to better fit the EV market in the future. It is not scared of the innovations but just doesn’t want to regret any early investments. After all, it is such a big organisation and also holds a lot of expectations.
When will Maruti Suzuki Enter the Indian EV Market?
Suzuki’s parent company had said an India special EV might be ready by 2025. Regarding issues related to climate change, zero-emission and carbon neutrality, India has to follow its own schedule and not be pressured by the timelines set by more developed nations in the world, the chairman asserted.
“Yes, we must work with the rest of the world, we must be concerned about climate change, we must go on to reduce emissions. But we and the world have both to recognise the disparities in income and living styles and the disparity in the consumption of energy per capita in the developed world and India,” Bhargava answered.
The company will be launching an all-new sports utility vehicle next year to expand its footprint in the fast-growing segment in the mainstream market. The development work on the vehicle is underway, which will be introduced shortly. “Once we have the SUV next year, we will have more market share in that area”, he added.
It is clear from the above statements that the company clearly understands what the Indian user would want. It is true that the whole of India is not readily agreeing on shifting to electric vehicles and it will take some time. Until then Maruti plans to do more research and development on prospective investments.
Current Situation of Maruti Suzuki
If we look at the current situation in the product segment, we will find that Maruti Suzuki is the dominator of the vehicle segment. It has, in the local markets, very well accepted cars like that of Wagon R, Swift, Baleno, Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, XL6 and the S-cross. On the other hand, Hyundai (Korean rival) has made good growth in the SUV category.
Top Best-Selling Cars of December 2021
Separately, Bhargava said while Maruti Suzuki has faced some loss in production due to the shortage in availability of semiconductors, it is not of major concern. The current shortage of semiconductors facing the automobile industry is temporary, partly caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to be over by 2022.
“Meanwhile, there has been a bit of a hit on the production of vehicles, and we have had to adjust, but there is no major loss that we have to be concerned about,” Bhargava said.
Bhargava has a thought process. That is, he thinks that India has to look after the citizens’ needs and wants. The only way to do that is to increase the lifestyle of individuals. They have to be better equipped with income to spend and live a decent life, this will create new demand for not just electric vehicles but everything else.
Not only this, he believes that this will also help in catching up with the rest of the world. The electronic vehicle is a concept that was first released in the outer boundaries of the world where technology is developed. They also enjoy a slightly better lifestyle than most Indians. EVs have to be tailor-made for Indians.
“It will require a much higher per capita energy consumption even if we adopt much more energy efficient means of consumption”. Bhargava pointed.
Bhargava further said: “And to do that we cannot follow everything which the West does. We have to make our own schedules and programmes and ensure that we do not adopt rules and regulations, which results in the people of India not being able ever to come up to the point of levels which they need to come up with to reduce (the gap) with the rest of the world.”
The above article points to the boundaries and the centre of the news piece that showed everyone. It is true that the homegrown vehicle maker Maruti Suzuki has hopes and aspirations for Electric scenes in India. But it surely does not want to do that in haste. Maruti has reported some slight losses due to manufacturing issues due to the unavailability of semiconductors. This however is not a big issue and they are getting better everyday. Maruti plans to be a little more stable in operations before they start investing in the Electric vehicle segment.
The news smoke came even when rival companies like Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra had lined up a lot in the Electric vehicle domain. It is forecasted that up until 2025 they will launch some dozen more EVs for citizens.
To those queries, the officials have already answered the raised questions. Bhargava said Maruti Suzuki is looking at the electric vehicle (EV) segment without making a loss on operations. India is a special market for everything, not just in the segments of the electric vehicle.
One who understands the markets and the needs of Indian customers are set to rule the market. Maruti over the years have done really well in the passenger vehicle segments, and this is good proof of their understanding of the Indian scenario.
FAQ
Is Maruti coming with electric cars?
Yes, Maruti has plans to enter the Indian EV market in 2025.
What is the price of the Maruti electric car?
The Wagon R electric will be priced at 10 lakhs in India, which is slated to launch in 2025.
Why is Maruti not making electric cars?
Maruti Suzuki’s chairman, R C Bhargava stated in its annual general meeting that, They will only enter the market when the market will show some feasibility in the future.
Electric Vehicles have created a huge sensation across the world. There are many companies trying to manufacture EVs which includes the reputed firms such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and even Apple have been said to release their own EV. However, Tesla coming to India had created a hype through the social media for a while but now the Triton EV which is a rival of Tesla has entered into India for setting up its manufacturing facility. In this article let’s look at whether Triton would be able to overpower Tesla.
The US based Electric Vehicle manufacturing company Triton which is a rival of Elon Musk’s Tesla has signed a Memorandum of understanding with the Government of Telangana to open its manufacturing facility. The state of the art manufacturing facility of Triton will be opened in the Zahirabad area of Telangana.
Triton Facility and Jobs in India
The manufacturing facility in India will be built over a million square feet area and is expected to create up to 24,000 jobs in the state. This was conveyed by the Triton EV and the Government of Telangana.
In a statement, the company has stated that in the span of the next 5 years, Triton EV will invest around USD 1.5 billion into the manufacturing facility set up in India. The first set of investments of around USD 300 million will be done in the coming few months.
The company is investing around INR 2,100 crore in order to establish an ultra modern vehicle manufacturing unit in Telangana. The project is set to provide employment to around 25,000 people and the company plans to produce around 50,000 vehicles in the first 5 years. The vehicles would include sedans, SUVs, semi-trucks and rickshaws.
Demand of Triton in India
The chairperson of Triton EV in India has said that the company already has orders worth USD 2.2 billion and also added that the Government of Telangana has provided the company with an order of 3000 EVs.
The semi-truck of Triton contains a battery pack of 300 kW and the truck has the capacity to provide a range of 550 km in a single recharge. The semi-truck has received orders from different automotive industries in India.
Another model of EV which is expected to release by Triton in India is the SUV segment. The Triton SUV model H, the model H SUV looks like a typical American model SUV and has a seating capacity of 8 members.
Triton SUV
The model H SUV has a range of 1,100 km in a single recharge and the EV would reach from 0-60 miles acceleration in less than 3 seconds. The battery pack of the SUV segment also has a hyper charging option which enables the recharge in just 2 hours. Other than the 8 passenger space, the SUV also has a cargo space of around 200 cubic feet.
The Triton EV gives a warranty of up to 10 years for their SUV segment which is not available to any other EV SUV in the market as of now.
The third model of EV that is expected to release is a Sedan model. The sedan model EV is named a model N4. The sedan has an option for short range and long range in which the short range has a km range of up to 540 and the battery would be around 75 kW.
For the long range the sedan model EV would provide a km range of 690 and has a battery of around 100 kW. In order to complete the recharge of up to 80%, the sedan model would take around 8 hours. The sunroof of the EV is made up of a transparent solar panel which helps in powering the on board electronics of the EV and the transparent solar panel helps in charging the N4 sedan as well.
Tesla VS Triton
Triton seems to have attractive EVs under their portfolio and Tesla is nowhere less, however, Tesla does not only sell Electric Vehicles they have a long list of portfolios under them. Moreover, the EVs or Tesla are considered to come under the luxury segment.
However, the move from Triton EV is expected to provide a huge competition to Tesla and we will have to look forward to see whether Triton EV will be able to overpower Elon Musk’s Tesla.
Conclusion
The Government of Telangana has stated that it would provide the required land for the manufacturing facility for Triton EV. The Government also said that it would provide the complete support for the company in order to acquire the necessary approvals for setting up the facility.
FAQ
Who is the founder of Triton EV?
Himanshu Patel is the founder of Triton EV.
Is Triton EV launching in India?
Yes, Triton EV will be launching in India and its first manufacturing plant will be set up in state of Telangana.
Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer of Elon Musk, is set to start selling its base model in India in the near future. While many of its fans in India were jubilant about Tesla’s entry, capturing the market can be the most daunting challenge the company has had until now. A Bloomberg article notes that Elon Musk is negotiating the opening of showrooms and possibly a factory with other Indian states Galuru branch. In India less than 1% of vehicles sold are electric vehicles, according to the Bloomberg report. The launch of Tesla’s business in India will pose a significant challenge for the company. Let’s have a look at the Challenges and Difficulties Tesla might face in India.
Elon Musk’s clean energy and electric vehicle company Tesla will start operations in India early next year, confirmed Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
Tesla is initially expected to sell its vehicles in India, and Tesla would also look at setting up a manufacturing facility at a later stage depending on demand, Gadkari told The Times of India. At a recent media event, Gadkari said there is focus on developing electric cars and added that a lot of Indian firms are also looking at developing electric cars. Ultimately, Tesla ended up setting up its unit in Bengaluru.
India announces steps to improve the country’s Electronics sales but they may not be sufficient to increase the sales of Tesla’s costly EVs. In 2015, India launched the Faster Adoption and Development of Hybrid and Electronic vehicle (FAME), which includes a INR 900 crore pledge to subsidies for electric tricycles for busses, as per the International Energy Agency, with a Faster Adoption and Development of Hybrid and Electronic vehicle (FAME). Another FAME program with INR 10,000 Crore was launched in 2019 to enable people to buy electricity supplies and build charging infrastructure. In addition, by August 2019, the government has reduced the Goods and Services Tax GST on electricity vehicles to 5 percent.
The tax rates for cars in India are one of the highest in the world. This includes a 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) and charges ranging from 3% to 22%. Though subsidies for electric cars exist in places like New Delhi, they are not sufficient for more people to afford Tesla’s cars. High taxes deter demand, and thus the attractiveness of economies of scale to consumers is reduced for manufacturers. For international brands, that was disastrous. Toyota announced last month that further growth in India will be stopped due to high taxes. Harley Davidson’s decision to leave the market recently was allegedly attributed to higher taxes. Last year, Ford announced its move to a joint enterprise for the most part of its assets. So, it will be challenging for Tesla because big companies are pulling out because of higher taxes.
In India, Tesla’s greater challenge is pricing. Given that Tesla’s costly bids would not be eligible for EV subsidies in this region, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BnEF) Analyst Allen Tom Abraham told Bloomberg that the top limit for EVs in India to eligible for subsidies is INR 15 lakh. It is worth noting that Tesla Mode l3, built in China, is started at 2,65,740 yuan or almost $41,000. The cost of crossing Model Y from Shanghai begins with 339,900 yuan. In addition to the price the export prices and charges on the Tesla cars will not be met for the majority of customers when they arrive in India.
It is about half that of China’s average prices and just 25% of USA’s average vehicle prices. This suggests that Tesla’s cheapest car in India will attract just around 1% of the market, says Abraham. Tesla would therefore have a marginal sales volume in India. While Tesla is facing challenges, India’s demand for electricity is now at a rising stage and, according to a study conducted by Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) for Energy Finance, Energy value in India could reach up to $206 billion in the next decadence. If it is to succeed, Tesla must keep its commitment to India. This is not the first time that Tesla CEO Elon Musk promises to visit India, as most musk watchers know.
Tesla would open its Model 3 vehicle pre-bookings, and deliveries would take place later this year. In India, the other Tesla models will be Model X, Model S, and Model Y, with approximate prices of INR 2 crore, 1.5 crore, and 50 lakh respectively. There is no chance of the business working with dealer companies in order to sell their vehicle. Potential buyers should note that while Model 3 is one of the more affordable cars in Tesla, it is not cheap to get to India, since it will be fully-built (CBU) cars with a high import duty. Although the prices are not confirmed, reports show that Tesla Model 3 could cost INR 55 lakh in India.
As of April 2021, they are not. But Tesla has already set up its unit in Bengaluru so it is assumed that they will be made available very soon.
Where has Tesla set up its Units in India?
Tesla has set up its unit in Bengaluru, India.
What will be the prices of Tesla in India?
It is expected that the pricing for Tesla in India will start from INR 55 Lakhs.
Why is Tesla so expensive?
Tesla’s cost more than average cars due to its use of cleaner energy sources and it’s advanced technologies. In India, other than import taxes they will also not be eligible for EV subsidiaries in India. This would be a challenge for Tesla.
Which Tesla car is coming to India?
Tesla Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X with approximate prices of INR 55 lakh, 50 lakh, 1.5 crore and 2 crore respectively.
In 2020 the Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari had announced that the U.S based Electric Vehicle company Tesla would enter in India. He told that in the beginning they would try to sell some cars and depending on the response of the sales they would start their R&D center in India.
After several years of delay, Tesla finally entered in India. On 12 January 2021, the company officially announced its arrival. They have registered in Bangalore, Karnataka by Tesla’s registrar of companies (Roc). The company’s registered name is Tesla India Motors and Energy private Limited. It is considered as a foreign subsidiary registered in India.
The Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S Yediyurappa tweeted happily and gave a warm welcome. But there are reasons as to why the company chose Bangalore to set up its R&D center.
Bangalore has a collection of technical and R&D centers. It accounts for more than a dozen automotive companies in the country. Bangalore has operational R&D units of automotive brands such as Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Great Wall Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Continental, Bosch, Volvo, and Delphi.
Bangalore has a lot of electric vehicle startups as well. The Karnataka Government states that there are more than 45 electric vehicle startups that are based in Bangalore. Startups like Ather Energy, Mahindra Electric, Ultraviolette Automotive are mostly concentrated on the two-wheeler segment.
Ola Electric which announced recently that it is going to enter into the automotive sector is also based in Bangalore. Since there are a lot of technical and R&D units of the biggest companies and electric vehicle startups, Tesla would have chosen Bengaluru as its manufacturing unit.
Bangalore is known as the IT Hub, the district has headquarters of companies like Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, TCS, and many more. Bengaluru has around 3,00,000 IT students studying in various colleges across the country.
Tesla will be able to benefit from the huge talented IT and engineering graduates in Bangalore. Automotive companies have used the Indian R&D centers to work on projects not only for India but even projects for other countries including China, Europe, and the U.S.
Software Engineers are working with Mercedes Benz in projects such as developing driverless cars. Great Wall Motors, the Chinese company has set up its R&D center in Bangalore, to work on their Electric Vehicles.
Automotive brands have already set up and are using the talent of Karnataka’s Capital. They have seen the outcome over the years. Tesla would also have foreseen the IT and the engineering talent available in Bangalore, being one of the reasons to set up its unit in Karnataka’s capital.
Other than a home for the major automotive companies, the state has certain policies. The policies act as one of the major reasons for Tesla to set up its unit in Bangalore.
Karnataka is concentrating on setting up an Electric Vehicle Hub in the State. It has allocated around $3 Billion (around 219 crores) for setting up an electric vehicle hub, lithium-ion cell, and battery manufacturing unit which includes Electric vehicle manufacturing bases in Hubbali and Dharwad. It is 400 km from Bangalore.
Karnataka had approved a new policy in 2017 which is the “Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy”. The state aims to create around 55,000 employment and attract investment of Rs 31,000 crore. To reduce dependency on fossil fuels and reduce its carbon footprint, the union government has unveiled its vision to make the country an all-electric vehicle market by the year 2031.
The state also provides a lot of incentives for setting up Electric Vehicle plants. It provides incentives such as reimbursement of land conversion fees, an investment promotion subsidy, 100 percent exemption on stamp duty, and many more. This would be the greatest advantage for Tesla. It must have been the easiest way to enter the country.
FAQ
Who is Tesla’s biggest competitor?
The Chinese EV maker Nio is one of Tesla’s biggest competitor.
Who sells the most electric cars in the world?
Tesla sells the most electric cars in the world.
What is the Valuation of Tesla?
The US Electric car maker Tesla is worth about $700 billion as of 2020.
What is the world’s most popular electric car?
Tesla Model 3 is the world’s most popular electric car.
Conclusion
In 2018, Elon Musk the CEO of the company had said that certain government regulations are making it hard for them to enter the country. He also mentioned that the company required 30% of some raw material to be available locally for manufacturing and India lacked these. But, now different automobile industries are setting up their plants and companies in India, also Apple have started their manufacturing unit in India.
Elon Musk has a huge number of fans in India and he is moreover known as the real Tony Stark. This shows that the company has huge potential in the country.
Nitin Konde
