Elon Musk's global domination tour, or at least the Tesla chief's attempt at it, will may continue this summer, as the electric-vehicle maker may start selling its cars in India around mid-year. So says Electrek, which cited a Tweeted response from Musk to an inquiry earlier this week, noting that he was "hoping for summer this year" for the debut. Not that Tesla has an outstanding history for meeting its self-imposed production and launch deadlines, but we'll take his (typed) word for it for now.
In India, Tesla will find a market that appears to be rapidly growing but remains fairly small in comparison to markets such as the US and China. While 2016 sales haven't been tracked, 2015 sales rose about 10 percent from a year earlier to about 2 million, The Hindu reported last year. And while that was an annual record, it's a fraction of the 17-million-plus vehicles sold in the US and the 20-million-plus sold in China last year. Think of it as another California, only further away and probably with far fewer high-end electric-vehicle enthusiasts.
That said, there is a market for luxury vehicles in India that is far larger than other imminent Tesla markets such as South Korea, New Zealand, and the UAE. India's population of more than 1.2 billion people is almost four times the size of the US population. There are almost 100 models sold in India with list prices of at least 40 lakhs, or about $64,000, according to the website Carwale. Those range from the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which sells for about $64,000, up to models such as the Porsche Panamera and Land Rover Discovery, which are listed at the equivalent of about $170,000. Figure the Tesla Model S to be closer to that figure.
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In India, Tesla will find a market that appears to be rapidly growing but remains fairly small in comparison to markets such as the US and China. While 2016 sales haven't been tracked, 2015 sales rose about 10 percent from a year earlier to about 2 million, The Hindu reported last year. And while that was an annual record, it's a fraction of the 17-million-plus vehicles sold in the US and the 20-million-plus sold in China last year. Think of it as another California, only further away and probably with far fewer high-end electric-vehicle enthusiasts.
That said, there is a market for luxury vehicles in India that is far larger than other imminent Tesla markets such as South Korea, New Zealand, and the UAE. India's population of more than 1.2 billion people is almost four times the size of the US population. There are almost 100 models sold in India with list prices of at least 40 lakhs, or about $64,000, according to the website Carwale. Those range from the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which sells for about $64,000, up to models such as the Porsche Panamera and Land Rover Discovery, which are listed at the equivalent of about $170,000. Figure the Tesla Model S to be closer to that figure.
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