By Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Senior Tesla Inc executives will meet Indian government officials on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss local procurement of parts and other issues, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The electric carmaker’s renewed interest in India comes nearly a year after it put on hold plans to sell cars in the country after failing to secure lower import taxes, which its CEO Elon Musk said are among the highest in the world.
Tesla and an Indian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla wanted lower tariffs to be able to test the local market with cars imported from the U.S. and China, but the Indian government wanted it to commit to manufacturing locally before cutting import taxes on cars that can run as high as 100%.
The electric carmaker had hired a local team and begun a search for showroom space, but that was also abandoned last year.
Local sourcing aligns with Modi’s pitch to attract manufacturers with his “Make in India” campaign, especially as companies look to diversify their supply chains beyond China.
The meeting comes weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States in June. Bloomberg News first reported the meeting plan.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Additional reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Jan Harvey)
