NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Tesla Inc plans to source components worth $1.7-$1.9 billion from India this year, the commerce minister said on Wednesday, amid plans by the electric vehicle maker to set up a factory in the country.
Reuters reported last month that Tesla’s senior executives met the minister with an interest in building a factory in India that would produce a low-cost electric vehicle (EV) priced at $24,000, around 25% cheaper than Tesla’s current entry-level model, for both the Indian market and export.
“Tesla last year already bought $1 billion worth of components from India… this year their target is $1.7-$1.9 billion,” Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said at an auto conference.
“I am convinced that this (EVs) is the future. It is something we must try to attract.”
(Reporting by Aditi Shah, writing by Tanvi Mehta; editing by Jason Neely)