Tesla: Running cost to be one of the lowest in India

GURUGRAM: US EV giant Tesla on Wednesday said running cost on the electrics will be one of the lowest in the country, with hardly any need to take the car to service stations for four years because of over-the-air (OTA) tech updates and other remote care. The company was speaking about plans to expand retail and supercharger network in India.Sharad Agarwal, head of Tesla’s India business, said the company remains confident on growth in India after beginning operations in July this year with retail of Model Y, which is imported. The company has opened its first ‘all-in-one Tesla Experience Centre’ in Gurugram, after it began operations with two experience (sales) centres in Mumbai and Delhi. Apart from sales, this will be the first facility to offer after-sales, deliveries, and supercharging. Agarwal said the company is now preparing to expand with a new super-charging centre at Gurugram, apart from two more in Mumbai.On retail, expansion is planned but Tesla did not talk about the cities, though it could move into south and west India for new stores. The EV-maker will take a graded approach for retail expansion, as it builds self-owned retail units unlike a third-party dealer-led model followed by the broader industry. The interesting part of Tesla’s sales pitch is its low operating cost, not only led by EV-led savings but also because of near-negligible service costs. The company gives to customers no service schedule plans, with a general advice that cars do not need to be brought in for service “for years”, until and unless there is a serious technical flaw or body damage. The tech-led cars generally manage their health through over-the-air updates – similarly to what is done by mobile phone companies – which help upgrade the technical aspects on the vehicles. Also, remote diagnostics ensure there is no need to visit the service centres.