Tesla Scouts for Land in Satara to Set Up CKD Unit

Elon Musk's Tesla is exploring land parcels in Satara, the hometown of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, to set up a completely knocked down (CKD) assembly unit for electric vehicles (EVs), a senior government official said.

- PUJA DAS

This comes after Tesla's negotiations with Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering fell through, the official said, adding that the EV maker was in discussions with another Indian firm for a joint venture to acquire land and set up a CKD unit. CKD is a method used to reduce import duties and facilitate local assembly by shipping vehicle parts separately to be assembled in the destination country.

The US carmaker's entry into India is expected by the last quarter of the current financial year, the official said. The company has already secured a showroom location in Mumbai to sell imported cars in India this year.

Queries sent to Tesla's offices in the US and India (Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd), the Union heavy industries ministry, and the Maharashtra government remained unanswered at the time of going to press.