Jaguar Land Rover opts out of India’s new EV policy, focusing on strong existing operations and growth in the Indian market.
Tata Motors has stated that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has no intention to take advantage of the new electric vehicle (EV) policy that gives import duty exemptions to companies that set up manufacturing facilities in India. This policy was unveiled in March and seeks to entice manufacturers like Tesla by allowing them to import a small number of cars at a 15% lower customs/import duty if those cars are manufactured for a price of USD 35,000 or more. This incentive is applicable for a period of five years starting from the date of approval by the government.
Government’s Electric Vehicle Policy
The latest EV policy in India is aimed at EV manufacturing to encourage domestic production in the country. The objective of this policy is to offer a nearly 50% cut on the import duties in order to attract global auto giants who will set shops in India consequently promoting local assembling of automobiles including electric ones. However, JLR has turned down this opportunity which can be seen as somewhat counter-intuitive given the clear advantages that could be gained.
Tata Motors’ Official Statement
Speaking at an earnings call, Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji asked whether JLR would take advantage of the new EV policy in India. “That particular policy does not suit us at this time and therefore we do not have any plans of applying it at this moment,” replied Balaji in response as a way of confirming that the policy at the moment is not tenable for Jaguar Land Rover. This decision makes a lot of sense and is inline with the company’s organic growth strategy that is currently being followed by JLR within the Indian automobile market.
Jaguar Land Rover Performance in India
As evident, JLR has not been significantly affected by its decision to opt out of the new policy with its performance in India still strong. Balaji pointed out that currently JLR’s business in India is progressing very well , The quarterly wholesale volumes rose by 5% YoY to 98,000 units. Also, retail sales have reached 1.11 lakh units, up by 9% compared to the same period in the previous year.
Also Read
Lectrix EV Joins Forces with Electric One Energy, Expanding to 2 SAARC Nations
About The Author
