The change in roles of its India management team comes as the company continues to push the government for import duty reductions.
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Tesla’s India operations seem to be in limbo with the company for months now trying to push for import tax reduction on its vehicles. The government has meanwhile reiterated its intentions of wanting the company to set up one of its much-talked-about Gigafactories in the country with multiple states having approached the manufacturer. Now as per latest reports, the world’s leading EV manufacturer has shuffled around its India management team with many having moved to roles for the broader Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
As per a ET Auto report, a majority of the company’s India management team has been shifted to Dubai to work for the Middle-East markets.
Manoj Khurana, who oversaw Tesla India’s public policy and business development, as per his LinkedIn profile, has shifted to a product role in the company’s office in California. Meanwhile former Ather Energy executive and Tesla India charging manager, Nishant Prasad has updated his designation to Charging Operations Lead for the APAC region.
Tesla has approached the Indian government for a tax break to bring down the cost of selling its CBU vehicles in the country
Tesla opened its India office early last year along with hiring executives to handle its India operations. The company’s plans to launch its cars in India though seem to be at a standstill. Tesla last year approached the Indian Government to reduce import duties on its cars – a move to make its cars more viable for buyers. The government though has not budged on its stance on import duties.
At present importing a car as a CBU attracts a 100 per cent duty for models costing $40,000 and above and 60 per cent for models below it. With Model 3 prices starting at the $ 40,000 mark it would attract the highest import duty when imported as a CBU thus pushing prices over the Rs 60 lakh mark.
The Indian Government meanwhile has said that it would be open to Tesla setting up manufacturing operations in India – a decision the company is yet to take.
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With inputs from ET Auto
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