Tesla finalizes deal for first Indian showroom at Mumbai’s BKC, second one to open in Delhi: Report

Elon Musk-led electric car manufacturer Tesla's India entry is looming near. After ramping up the operational efforts in India, the automaker has now finalised the deal to open its first showroom in Mumbai. The first Tesla showroom in India will be opened at Mumbai's posh Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The Tesla showroom in BKC will be built on a 4,000 square feet area on the ground floor of a commercial tower.

Tesla is paying one of the highest rents for commercial space at ₹900 per square feet, translating to around ₹35 lakh per month for the showroom space at BKC, claims a report by Times of India. The US-based automaker is also in the process of finalising a deal for the second showroom in the country, which will be built in Delhi.

Tesla eyes Indian market as a business booster

Tesla is planning to launch its India operations with an affordable electric car. The EV maker could launch the much-anticipated ₹21-lakh electric car to kickstart its operations in the country. The much-hyped most affordable Tesla EV could be christened as Model 2, which would come as a downsized version of the Model Y crossover. Besides that, Tesla Model 3, which is the current entry-level car in the brand's portfolio, may also be launched in India.

Tesla CEO Musk himself hinted that the company is considering making the most affordable car, which further fuelled the speculation of its India launch. Despite holding a large chunk of the global electric car market, the automaker has been lately facing difficulties around the world. While the competition from Chinese rivals has been rising fast, an overall slowdown in EV sales globally is also impacting Tesla's growth. In this situation, Tesla aims to tap the huge growth potential in the Indian market.

In the recent past, the Indian government has amended its federal EV policy multiple times to boost investment in this sector. The Indian EV policy now favours the investment from foreign automakers like Tesla, VinFast, etc., given they set up local manufacturing plants in the country.

Tesla ramps up effort for India business

During his last visit to the US, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tesla CEO. Almost immediately after that, the automaker posted hiring advertisements for at least 13 different roles in India, which indicated the electric car manufacturer aims to ramp up its effort to set up business in the country. The development of finalising the deal for the showroom in Mumbai comes on the heels of that.

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