(Reuters) -Tesla has received orders for just over 600 cars since launching sales in India in mid-July, a number that has fallen short of the company’s own expectations, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Elon Musk-led EV maker now plans to ship between 350 and 500 cars to India this year, of which the first batch is slated to land from Shanghai in early September, Bloomberg News said.
Deliveries will initially be limited to Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Gurugram, the report said, adding the size of shipments is based on the full payments it has received for the cars, as well as the company’s ability to deliver outside the four cities where it has a physical presence.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In July, Tesla launched its Model Y car in India for about $70,000, a price that reflects the country’s high tariffs on imported EVs. The U.S. EV maker has long lobbied India for lower import tariffs on cars.
Facing excess capacity in global factories and declining sales, Tesla has adopted a strategy of selling imported vehicles in India, despite the duties and levies.
With deliveries estimated to begin from the third quarter, the automaker is targeting a niche segment of the domestic car market, where EVs account for just 4% of overall sales.
Although India’s road infrastructure has improved, traffic discipline – like lane driving – is still rudimentary, EV chargers are far and few, stray animals, including cattle, and potholes on the road are a big hurdle, even in cities.
(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
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