Tesla does a tango with Indian parts makers
NEW DELHI : Indian auto parts makers are emerging as preferred suppliers to Tesla Inc. as it diversifies away from China, two people familiar with the development said, with the US electric car giant often willing to pay a higher price for the shift. Tesla now sources a range of India-made components from small plastic parts and castings, to complex differential systems used in transmission, and wheel hubs.
Industry data sourced by Mint showed that 30 component makers —including Indian firms and multinationals with manufacturing operations in India—exported parts worth $135-150 million to Tesla in 2022-23. However, additional sales by Tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers, that is, suppliers who provide parts to direct suppliers, are likely to add to this figure. Some of the biggest ones are Sona Comstar, the largest Indian supplier for Tesla, as well as Graziano Trasmissioni India Pvt.
Ltd (DANA Graziano, a DANA group company), Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd, CISWW Engineering India Pvt. Ltd and Bharat Forge Ltd. Mint could not verify details of the suppliers’ business with Tesla, given their non-disclosure agreements with the US firm.
In September, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had said Tesla sourced nearly $1 billion worth of auto parts from India in 2022, and was on track to double it this year. Goyal visited Tesla’s manufacturing facility in Fremont, California earlier this week, even as the government weighs a new national electric vehicle (EV) policy that could potentially lower import duties on EVs if foreign carmakers such as Tesla commit to invest in local manufacturing in the country. Tesla is targeting the mass-premium segment of passenger EVs in the country.
Read more on livemint.com
