Dear Tesla buyers, Don't crib about high tariffs. They have helped Indian auto industry

The Print

6 days ago

This immediately set off a firestorm on social media, with everyone taking potshots, especially at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, because of the high import duties. It's an unfair criticism because import duties on automobiles, or tariffs, have been around forever. And India has a vibrant automotive industry. One that employs over 20 million people.
The similar Model Y starts at $37,500 in the US, although a better comparison would be to the £44,990 it costs in the United Kingdom. These translate to Rs 32.3 lakh and Rs 52.1 lakh respectively. The car, which is being imported from the company's Berlin megafactory, is so much more expensive in India because of the high duties on fully-built-up imported vehicles.
Let me address the electric elephant in the room, right away. Earlier this week, the Elon Musk-helmed Tesla Motors opened their first showroom—call it an 'experience centre'— in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did the honours, although Musk himself did not attend. Before the inauguration, Tesla India opened bookings on their website and smartphone application, with their only product in India, the Model Y SUV, starting at Rs 58.89 lakh and a long-range variant at Rs 67.89 lakh.
In fact, the government's duty structure encourages manufacturers to at least assemble—if not manufacture—their products in India. Take the Model Y's direct competitor in the global and Indian market, the BMW iX1. Launched by BMW India in January this year, it's reportedly flying off the shelves, with over 200 units sold every month, with a 3-4 month waitlist.
But since BMW assembles the car at its factory in Chennai, and even incorporates some local parts like tires, rubber lining, carpets, and seats, it's able to price the iX1 at just Rs 49 lakh. Better still, it is the long-wheelbase variant, unique to the Indian market in its right-hand drive. For comparison, the regular wheelbase iX1 in the UK costs £43,295, which amounts to Rs 50.1 lakh.
So, the BMW is not only more affordable in India but also more practical, thanks to the long wheelbase. It is the same story with Mercedes-Benz India, which assembles its EQS sedan and SUV at the Chakan plant.
Astonishing speed of Tata Harrier.ev
While 'heavy' manufacturing, like panel stamping and shell welding, is not happening in India for these global brands just yet, Indian manufacturers are already doing it. Earlier this year I had visited the new Mahindra electric vehicle manufacturing facility at Chakan that employs over a thousand people, many of them women. While many parts and components even for these vehicles are imported, particularly from China, a gradual shift towards 'Make In India' is taking place, as Vinnie Mehta, Director General, Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA) told me recently.
I just drove possibly the best 'Made In India' electric vehicle yet, also made in Pune, which proves that Indian manufacturers are right up there with the rest. The Tata Harrier.ev Quad-Wheel Drive (QWD) was quite an impressive drive.
It has amazing onboard technology, but what really stood out was the dual-motor set-up on the car, one on each axle, producing 158PS at the front and 238PS at the rear. While you can't select four-wheel drive, this system functions more like a mechanical all-wheel drive. When you floor the accelerator, it really moves.
If you have seen the Tata Harrier on the road, you know it is a big vehicle. But switch to 'Boost' mode, and you will hit 100 km per hour from a standstill in 6.3 seconds. That is fast for any car, but astonishing for a bulky SUV. And this, despite Tata Motors dialling back the total power output of both motors to around 315-317PS, likely to reduce stress on the battery, motors, and wiring.
I could not drive the Harrier.ev like a maniac even if I wanted to. And that is when I started to enjoy the onboard tech. Some features felt a bit redundant—a camera mounted on the 'shark-fin' receiver that projects a feed onto the inside rear-view mirror. But the Dolby Atmos-enabled system? Wow. That was special. In-car audio systems have come a long way, but this one stood out. I tested it by listening to classic Hollywood film scores, and it was outstanding.
But when I found an open stretch on the Faridabad-Gurugram road, and let the Harrier.ev show what it could do, I was steering. At higher speeds, the steering could have been a bit sharper; there is no way to adjust the steering 'feel'. But overall, this electric Harrier was far superior to the diesel version (which makes just 170PS and lacks four-wheel drive). In fact, it was better than the Mahindra XEV 9e and even entry-level luxury EVs—not just in terms of performance but also in onboard tech.
Also read: India's EV dreams need freedom from China's stranglehold on rare-earth metals. Start mining
Tata Motors (and Mahindra for that matter) have learned from Chinese carmakers such as BYD, which recently dethroned Tesla as the world's leading electric vehicle manufacturer.
As an overall combination of interior space, technology and performance, the Tata Harrier.ev QWD is an excellent vehicle. The 75 kilowatt-hour battery pack is claimed to be good for over 500 km, but I expect a real-world range of around 450 km and can charge at a maximum of 120 kilowatts at a DC fast charger. It is available in only one 'persona' (as Tata Motors calls their specifications) called Empowered and is priced at Rs 29 lakh.
The rear-wheel drive only variant with a 65 kilowatt-hour battery and a real-world range of around 380-400 km, starts at Rs 21.5 lakh. However, I'd go for the Rear-Wheel Drive Empowered Persona, as it is the only variant that gets the Dolby Atmos-enabled audio system (it is really that good), priced at Rs 27.5 lakh. That said, the Harrier.ev is not for erveryone, it is a pricey vehicle but one hopes that as Indian manufacturers, and the Indian arms of global manufacturers absorb skills, they will start making better vehicles and more affordable ones. Just look at what is happening in China.
While some consumers will understandably complain about high tariffs, those very tariffs have allowed Indian manufacturers to gain skills. Yes, many components for EVs like the Tata Harrier.ev are still imported, and China's restrictions on rare-earth motors and lithium batteries may hurt India in the short term. But that only proves that we have to build our own manufacturing capabilities, including components. We can't achieve that through imports; we have to indigenise and get foreign manufacturers to do more of their manufacturing in India.
Kushan Mitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. He tweets @kushanmitra. Views are personal.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)