Tesla is welcome in India, but manufacturing in China and selling in India is “not a digestible concept", Union Roads & Highways Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari told News18 in an exclusive interview. Gadkari also revealed that he had an interaction with the India head of Tesla recently to convince them to set up their own plant here given that India is a huge market.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweet last month about facing problems in Tesla entering the Indian market had created a stir, making many states openly invite Musk to come set shop. “Tesla is welcome in India, we don’t have any problem. The Indian market is a huge market. The Indian automobile industry’s turnover is Rs 7.5 lakh crore. And all the reputed brands in the whole world — BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Toyota, Volvo, Honda — all are here. So there is a huge market," the Union Minister told News18.
Nitin Gadkari said Elon Musk’s interest is to manufacture Tesla car in China and make it sell in India. “We request him that you can start your own plant here. We have all ancillaries available here, you can get quality production here and you can get good sale here. So if you start here, you are welcome, no problem. But manufacturing in China and selling in India is not a digestible concept to all of us," he said.
Gadkari also revealed that 3-4 days ago, he had an interaction with Musk’s India head of Tesla and he has tried to convince them. “Ultimately, it is dependent on him to take the decision," he said.
Tesla has also complained of not enough tax benefits on offer in India. “Actually we don’t have one company, we have all the world giants present in the Indian market. If we give one benefit to one company, we have to give that benefit to other companies also. That is the practical problem," Gadkari argued, in a response to a question by News18 on this.
‘In Two Years, Electric Vehicle Cost Will Same as Others’
Gadkari claimed that within two years, by getting good manufacturing numbers, the cost of electric two, three, and four-wheelers, and even buses, will be equal to petrol and diesel vehicles.
“We can achieve that," he said, saying it a “numbers game". He said e-vehicle growth had increased in big cities like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi and within two years, there will be electric buses in all corporations. “Lithium-ion batteries now being manufactured here, but we are developing zinc-ion, sodium-ion and aluminium-ion. So this new chemistry is going to be helpful for the industry. We are moving towards green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is the fuel for the future and my idea is to export green hydrogen to the whole world," Gadkari said.
He said India was importing crude oil, gas and petroleum worth Rs 8 lakh crore and wants to replace it with alternative fuel like ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel, CNG, electric, bio-LNG and green hydrogen. “I am confident as transport minister that within three years, we are going to establish all kinds of technology manufacturing in India and the country will be the No. 1 manufacturing hub for automobiles in the world within five years. We aim to make the turnover of this sector Rs 15 lakh crore from 7.5 lakh crore," he said.
Gadkari added that this is the sector which is giving maximum employment potential, which is giving maximum revenue to the state and the Centre in GST, and is very important for India’s growth.
Read all the Latest Politics News here
Comments
0 comment