Business Business:Tesla Inc. is set to open its first showroom in India in July, people familiar with the discussions said, marking the start of formal operations in the world’s third-largest automobile market, as the Elon Musk-led firm seeks growth amid declining sales in Europe and China.
The electric vehicle giant’s first set of cars have arrived in the country – Model Y rear-wheel drive SUVs shipped from Tesla’s China factory, according to the people, who requested not to be identified because the information is private, as well as documents seen by Bloomberg News. The Model Y is the world’s best-selling electric car.
Tesla is set to open its first showroom in Mumbai in mid-July, followed by one in New Delhi, according to the people. It has also imported supercharger components, car accessories, merchandise and spares from the U.S., China and the Netherlands, the documents show.
The launch will end years of speculation about Tesla’s entry into India – a market Musk had long eyed but was held back by disagreements over tariffs and local manufacturing. The breakthrough in bringing Tesla to India came when Musk met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US in February.
