[Rajuputana]

Just saw a news article on Economic Times on Tesla Sedan in India (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/45210985.cms). Quoting the Chief Information Officer of Tesla Motors, Jay Vijayan, it says that Tesla Sedan will be launched in India soon and is in talks with government to rationalise duties and taxes on import of vehicles. Jay also mentions that Tesla has identified India as a possible market where assembly line can be set up. Music to ears, however, was the expected price range of the sedan he spoke about, which could be in the range of USD 30K to USD 40K (approximately 18 to 24 lakhs). If Tesla, beating all odds, is able to sell car anywhere near the range mentioned, it should revolutionize the way India drives. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but knowing how the government and corporates for profit functions, it would be a while, i can untangle them again.

[sgiitk]

They intend to come out with a lower cost edition for India etc. With our taxation it will still be at least 30 lacs plus!

[GKR9900]

Really exciting to see Tesla considering to enter the Indian market, although I'm not sure if we are ready for this.
Wonder how the model III is gonna be like. If model S is anything to go by, I'd say it ticks all the right boxes for me. Zero lag motor, decent range, futuristic interiors, brilliant styling, supposedly low running costs...yup,I'd take one if I had the moolah!!

The product strategy set by Tesla is too aggressive though.I don't think they'd be able to set up the necessary infrastructure in such a short span of time.This is India we're talking about. It's hard enough to find a pot-hole ridden road to enjoy our beauties,let alone a high tech charging station.

Also,CBU pricing on a novel company with novel powering strategies wont go down well with the average Indian. They might take the safe route and end up buying any of the conventionally powered vehicles.Ofcourse this is the model III I'm talking about,the S might have takers(even the BMW i8 has).Unless the government seriously consider a new tax policy for electric cars or provide some form of incentive for prospective customers,I doubt there's very little these cars can do here.

[PVPal]

Before any move, the only way to make Tesla viable in India would be to have a government policy on EVs in place. In short, the starting point would be subsidy. Even in the US, Tesla has a lot to thank (I mean, really a lot, that too by US $ standards) subsidies.

First, there’s the $7500 taxback bonus that every buyer gets and every taxpayer pays. Then there are generous state subsidies ($2500 in California, $4000 in Illinois—the bluer the state, the more the taxpayers get gouged), all paid to people forking out $63K (plus taxes) for the base version, to roughly $100K for the really quick one.

A couple of articles hereunder for reference:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickm...ve-some-money/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmul...mpanies-arent/

Charging infrastructure and other aspects are indeed important, but secondary, IMO. That said, there are always those who buy what they like and what the can afford.

[D4D]

Just Not Feasible In India.

When a country can't supply every citizen with continuous electricity for 24 hours, how can we charge these plug in electric cars?

It would have been a different scenario if we had uninterrupted electricity.
Hopefully this message goes to the right person.

[humyum]

With the Indian mindset, don't see this selling AT ALL. Maybe some units here and there like the Prius, but that's about it.

[iliketurtles]

Electric vehicles are an idea whose time is coming, make no mistake about it. Yes, there are infrastructural issues in India w.r.t. electricity availability, but the urbane customer that would look to show off a car such as this would have no issues such as this. I can see it suceeding, especially in Delhi where some sops are given by the govt for electric cars.

Tesla coming here is exciting news and we should welcome it as car lovers. I for one am eager to see how this unfolds.

[i10]

It would be interesting to see the government do anything at all for a car that is already priced in a segment beyond the reach of the average Indian. It is probably an 'honour' for India to be even considered as a market for this vehicle - Uber's Indian CIO must have some say in that decision - however doling out subsidies or tax breaks for that matter, for a 20 lakh car pre-excise would be too much to expect. It is one thing for the E2O to be subsidised and yet another for a Corolla.

[rpunwani]

It's so coincidental reading that Tesla is planning to come to India. I visited the Tesla store in Boca Raton this afternoon and checked out their Model S, attaching some photos of the car.

What is amazing is the simplicity of the chassis - aluminium construction both cast & fabricated. The bed holds the batteries.

One can also see the huge display screen, from where one can control the functions of the car. Will post some more pictures in due course.

Wish they come to India soon

[GKR9900]

If the government is really serious about the electric mobility mission and all, we could see a greater influx of electric cars in the country. Will be really interesting to watch this space, especially over the next 5 years or so.

On a separate note, wouldn't the charging time be a bit of concern? Suppose the range of the vehicle is 450km.I started from home after a full charge, the distance to be traveled is say,600km.I will have to find a charging port and wait for a couple of hours for the car to recharge to complete the remaining 150 kms? Compare that with a normal car where I could just fill up and go. Can someone shine some light on this?

[Bh.P]

I think charging infrastructure is not the big barrier. Most people who may buy this car, will have charging points in their garage, or will be able to get one done. Plus, based on the adoption, charging infrastructure would be put in place in public spaces.

The bigger barrier would be cost. Government has to provide subsidies or restructure the taxation on these cars to make them attractive. May be they can start with the e2o.

[HeavyFuelRun]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So why would Indians buy a Tesla. If my understanding is correct, people that buy Tesla's are just Prius type of buyers who have more money to spent? Two things are relevant for them: the environment and to be seeing to do something about it. Ie buy a green car. Im not criticizing here, whatever floats your boat. Ive bought cars just because I thought they looked pretty. Whatever is relevant to you. Pretty is not a better or worse buying criteria then green as far as Im concerned.

Now, whereas green, or being perceived green is a huge thing in the US and most of Europe, I really don't see much evidence of green being relevant for India or Indians. Take for instance the Times of India. How many "green" articles have appeared over the last year? Or any newspaper for that matter.

In the US or Europe being green is part of every day life for everybody. Everyday its in the news, legislation is heavily favoring green solutions, huge political topic with dedicated green political parties, successful too. I dont see anything anywhere near that level of green awareness in Inidia.

If green isn't relevant you could buy for the same money a much better, bigger, faster car. So why would Indians buy green?

Jeroen

Jeroen

Also, we must keep in mind that an electric car is only as green as the method by which the electricity it runs on is generated. For example if the electricity running the car came from a coal fired power plant, the car is just as polluting if not more than a car that runs on petrol/diesel.

If the electricity came from a solar power generator, then the car is carbon netural and green, unless i'm missing something here as well.

Hence, electric car does not always mean green car, we must go back to source!

[ckranjan]

Originally Posted by HeavyFuelRun

Also, we must keep in mind that an electric car is only as green as the method by which the electricity it runs on is generated. For example if the electricity running the car came from a coal fired power plant, the car is just as polluting if not more than a car that runs on petrol/diesel.

If the electricity came from a solar power generator, then the car is carbon netural and green, unless i'm missing something here as well.

Hence, electric car does not always mean green car, we must go back to source!

You are right but electric cars are less polluting because the efficiency of coal power plants is way more than internal combustion engines. So its not as polluting.

[HeavyFuelRun]

Originally Posted by ckranjan

You are right but electric cars are less polluting because the efficiency of coal power plants is way more than internal combustion engines. So its not as polluting.

I seem to have found some evidence to the contrary, refer this article on forbes.com. An eletric vehicle running on coal powered eletricity is worse than a gasoline engined car, as per this writer.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamescon...hat-polluting/

QUOTE
The simple evaluation is to compare the CO2 emissions from burning gasoline to those emitted by the power plants to produce the energy to charge the battery to drive the same distance. We’ll be nice to internal combustion engines and say they get 40 miles to the gallon. Similarly, we’ll be conservative and say electric vehicles get only 40 miles to every 10 kWhrs.

A gallon of gasoline produces 8,887 grams of CO2 when burned in a vehicle (EPA vehicle emissions). Producing the equivalent of 10 kWhrs of electricity, including the total life-cycle from mining, construction, transport and burning, emits about 9,750 g of CO2 when generated in a coal-fired power plant, 6,000 g when generated in a natural gas plant, 900g from a hydroelectric plant, 550 g from solar, but only 150 g each from wind and nuclear (UK Office of Science and Technology 2006).
UNQUOTE

Also, just to highlight the scale of the problem on the genration of power side of things, would like to quote another section of the same article

QUOTE
Since the 100,000,000 electric cars in America in 2040 will drive a trillion miles that year, they will require 250 billion kWhrs, or the equivalent of thirty GenIII 1,000-MW nuclear plants, 75 combined cycled 800-MW gas plants, or 250,000 of the big 1-MW wind turbines.

That is a lot of energy, but still only about 5% of the total electricity production in the U.S. And powering that many electric vehicles from nuclear, hydro or renewables alone would eliminate over 10% of our GHG emissions.
UNQUOTE

[ckranjan]

Originally Posted by HeavyFuelRun

I seem to have found some evidence to the contrary, refer this article on forbes.com. An eletric vehicle running on coal powered eletricity is worse than a gasoline engined car, as per this writer.

So they will consider the full life cycle for coal but not for gasoline. What kind of calculation this is?

Anyways this is going too off topic and may be continued in any other thread if it exists.