Business Insider reported on September 22 that the global electric vehicle competition between BYD and Tesla is spreading to India, but both companies face serious challenges in the country. India is the third-largest automotive market in the world, but its electric vehicle industry is still in its infancy, with annual sales of only 100,000 units. McKinsey predicts that India's electric vehicle sales could surge to 3 million units by 2030, presenting a huge market potential. Currently, BYD and Tesla are actively expanding their presence in the Indian market, but both face high import tariffs of 70%. However, each company faces different challenges: for BYD, fluctuations in Sino-Indian relations directly hinder its plan to build a factory in India. Recently, several senior leaders of BYD India have not obtained visas to travel to India. Notably, BYD has surpassed 10,000 cumulative sales in the Indian market this September, thanks to more affordable models. This means that once the diplomatic barriers between China and India are removed and tariff obstacles are reduced, BYD has the potential to "sweep across India." For Tesla, although it officially delivered vehicles in India in July 2025, it currently sells only the Model Y at two showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai. Due to import tariffs, the price of this model reaches about 60 million rupees (approximately $70,000), which is too high and leads to a lackluster market response. Currently, the Indian industry generally criticizes Tesla for insufficient investment and lack of sincerity in India. Additionally, factors such as inadequate supercharging network coverage, repeated delays in local factory construction plans, and competitive pressure from domestic Indian brands like Tata, have caused Tesla to face a cold start. Analysts point out that Tesla has missed the best opportunity to enter the Indian market, but if it accelerates factory construction and large-scale retail in India in the future, its performance in India could still improve significantly.
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