reply India is considering slashing import tariffs on electric cars to 40 per cent

India is considering slashing import tariffs on electric vehicles to 40 percent, two senior government officials confirmed to media on Monday, Reuters reported.For imported electric vehicles worth less than $40,000, including the cost, insurance and freight of the vehicle, the government is discussing a sharp cut to 40 per cent from the current 60 per cent, the two government officials said. For electric cars worth more than $40,000, the government is considering lowering the tax from 100% to 60%. At the same time, one of the officials stressed: "We haven't finalised tariff reductions yet, but discussions are ongoing."Previously, Tesla CEO Elon Musk lamented India's restrictive policies, saying on Twitter that while his company wants to build cars in India, "India's import tariffs are by far the highest of any major country in the world." Mr Musk added that clean energy vehicles should be "treated like diesel or petrol vehicles". If Tesla can succeed in importing cars from India, it is likely to build a factory in India. Tesla has previously said it plans to import and sell its Model 3 electric car, which costs less than $40,000, in the Indian market.Nitin Gadkari, India's transport minister, told Reuters in an interview that if Tesla were to consider investing in India, the government would offer various incentives to ensure that the company's production costs in India were the lowest in the world. Tesla has set up a company in India's tech hub of Bangalore, hiring dozens of employees and conducting market research. For Tesla, which has decided to enter the Indian market, India's import tariffs are too high to take into consideration.According to foreign media reports, many other luxury carmakers have lobbied the Indian government to lower import taxes on their cars in the past. Foreign premium carmakers including Daimler, Mercedes Benz and Audi have been calling for India to lower tariffs for years, but they have faced stiff resistance from local carmakers without success.India is now the world's fifth-largest car market, with annual sales of about three million vehicles, most of which are priced under $20,000. According to industry estimates, electric cars make up only a small portion of its total sales, and luxury electric car sales are minuscule.In Terms of June sales, India was still behind Germany, which a consultancy said had overtaken It to become the world's fourth largest car market. McKinsey had previously projected India to overtake Japan as the world's third largest car market by 2021, but sales in the first half of 2021 -- typically no more than 300,000 units a month -- would prove difficult to achieve.