The Government of India says that global auto brands are willing to enter India but are looking for the right local partner. The information was shared by Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry, and Internal Trade (DPIIT) at the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) 62nd Annual Convention, in Delhi. Anurag further hinted that the government is in talks with some of the local players like Maruti Suzuki India, encouraging them to partner with these big global brands.
Addressing the media Jain said, “Some companies are looking to come to India, but they are still looking for the right partner. Had asked Maruti also to partner with a big player.” While the Secretary of DPIIT did not give us the names of these global players that are planning to enter India, Jain did say that he’s privy to confidential info on big auto-related investments waiting to enter India.
This could open new opportunities in the electric mobility space for young EV brands like Lucid, Rivian and VinFast to enter India.
Nonetheless, this is certainly a big opportunity for a lot of global automakers who want to enter the Indian market but are not able to do it solely due to high taxation and other red tape. Moreover, the fact that the government is in talks with India’s larger carmaker for a potential partnership with a global player certainly piques our interest. This will especially open new avenues in the electric mobility space in India opening doors for young EV brands which are currently making noise in the US market like - Lucid, Rivian and VinFast.
This could also give an established brand like Tesla another shot at entering the Indian market. The American electric car maker had been working on entering the Indian market for about a year before the company decided to put its plan on hold in June 2022. It was reported that Tesla had abandoned the search for showroom space and reassigned some of its domestic team after failing to secure lower import taxes. However, partnering with a local player could make things a lot easier for the company.
At this moment, we can only wait for the Government of India to share more details on the matter. Which we hope will happen soon.
