“Tamil Nadu will be pitching for all
opportunities of electric vehicle manufacturing from all global car majors,” T.
R. B Rajaa, the state’s minister for industries said, when asked if Tesla was
on his radar. He added that the province, often called the Detroit of India for
its automaking prowess, has country’s “best electric vehicle policies and
ecosystem.”
Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu,
is wooing Tesla considering it’s already home to the manufacturing facilities
of Nissan Motor Co., Renault SA, Hyundai Motor Co. and BMW AG and the auto
parts supply chains that feed them. But
it’ll face stiff competition from other Indian states that are also petitioning
Musk.
Demand
for EVs in India, by contrast, is still on the rise. India also cut the import duty on EVs last month and
said to get tax concessions, foreign companies will have to invest at least
4,150 crore rupees ($500 million) and start producing EVs from a local plant
within three years.
Tamil Nadu is “already the automotive
capital of the country,” said Rajaa. Now “we
will aim at making the state the EV capital too”.