‘If you want something done right, do it yourself’ – this is the exact ideology with which Tata Group aims to set foot into the EV market.
The salt-to-software conglomerate’s Tata Sons arm has blown the war bugle against Tesla as it recently confirmed it won’t partner up Tesla – Elon Musk’s much-celebrated electric car company, and go solo instead!
For quite some time, speculations about an impending partnership between the Tata Group and Tesla were making rounds in the media post as the latter entering the Indian market. The possibility of the alliance also contributed to a tiny spike in the share price of Tata Motors.
But, all of that was put to rest by Tata Sons’ Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Wednesday, when he revealed that there has been no dialogue with Tesla regarding partnering up in India and that they (Tata Motors) will do it on their own.
Thus, now the race to dominate a sizeable portion of the premium electric automobile market space has begun amid Tata Motors and Tesla.
Tesla vs Tata: Who Will Dominate India’s EV Market?
On one corner while Tesla is revving up to set foot in India with its Model 3 Sedan. In the other corner, Tata Motors is all set to charge forward with its Jaguar I-Pace.
Jaguar Land Rover Ltd., a Tata Motors’ subsidiary, unveiled its first luxury crossover at the Geneva Motor show last year on March 8th where it also bagged the ‘Car of The Year’ award.
A closer look at Tesla and TATA Motors piants an interesting scenario that could make Elon Musk anxious.
Currently, Tata Motors is a few steps ahead of Tesla. It has already set up charging outlets for the Jaguar I-Pace and its electric SUV Nexon while Musk’s electric car company is yet to begin manufacturing in the country.
Quite recently, Tata Motors, in a statement, mentioned that 22 retail outlets across 19 cities are now completely EV ready when it comes to infrastructure as well as sales and after-sales support.
But that’s not all that put Tata Motors ahead of Tesla in India.
TATA Motors has also disclosed that over 200 charging points have been set up in key urban hubs across metro cities such as malls, restaurants, offices and residential complexes for Tata’s EV automobile customers.
On the other hand, Elon Musk’s Tesla has only taken baby steps to roll out its vehicles in India. So far, it has only registered a company in Bangalore and picked Karnataka’s Tumkur district to set up its plant. Sources familiar with the developments have mentioned that Tesla plans to initially start importing its cars as CBUs aka completely built units and then assembling the same to sell in the country.
Thus, all in all, one can well say that other upcoming competitors aside, Tata will definitely be the biggest challenge Tesla will face on the Indian turf.
All said and done, the electric vehicle market in India is still in its nascent stage. It is expected to register a CAGR of 20% during the forecast period 2020-2025 and both Tesla and Tata Motors will surely represent a sizeable chunk of the fast-growing market. Will Tesla India’s board of directors be able to pull it off successfully to meet the expectations set by Musk – the man who is known for its highly ambitious plans and goals.
It now remains to be seen how their respective plan of action aka POAs unfurls in the near future. We will keep you updated on all future developments. Until then, stay tuned.
