Saturday, 24 July 2021

Can TESLA beat MATAM ?

Unlikely

( MATAM = Maruti – Ashok Leyland – Tata – Ather – Mahindra )

Context :

24 July 2021

Extract :

Tesla Inc. has sought lower taxes on import of electric vehicles in India

The California-based maker of electric vehicles has written to the transport and industry ministries for reducing import duty on electric cars to 40 per cent from the current range of 60 per cent-100 per cent for vehicles depending on their import value

Earlier, Reuters reported that Tesla has pitched to Indian ministries to reduce federal taxes on imports of fully assembled electric cars.

Tesla is seeking to enter India, one of the world’s biggest emerging car markets, where electric vehicles account for less than 1 per cent of new passenger vehicles and two-wheeler sales compared with 5 per cent in China.

The company also wants the government to scrap the 10 per cent social welfare surcharge on electric vehicles which was introduced in 2018.

Earlier this month, transport minister Nitin Gadkari had said Tesla would soon enter the Indian market and the government was already working on building electric charging stations along some highways.

The company has said the reduction in duty will help it make significant direct investments in sales, service, and charging infrastructure. The company plans to significantly increase procurement from India for its global operations and will evaluate broader investment in manufacturing and research and development following a successful launch, the company said in the letter.

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My Take :

[ A ] IMPORT DUTY :

Ø Import Duty is a Central subject . If a reduction is offered to Tesla, it would need to be offered to all fully imported electric cars, from all over the world.

This is not like the incentives / concessions that Gujarat Government offered to TATA , a few years ago to shift its NANO car project from Singur ( W Bengal ) to Sanand ( Gujarat )

Ø Current Import Duty rates for fully imported Electric cars are :

# Priced above $ 40,000 ………. 100 %

# Priced below $ 40,000 …………. 60 %

Ø Tesla Model 3 ( for sale in India ) is expected to be priced at…..Rs 70 Lakh ( source > Carwale.com )

[ B ] TESLA PRICES :

Ø Model 3 sells in USA currently for Rs 29,76,345 ( $ 39,990 as per Tesla website )

Ø On this, Import Duty @ 60 % will be……………………Rs 17,85,807

Ø Taking the total price in India to……………………………Rs 47,62,152

[ C ] INDIAN MARKET FOR PASSENGER CARS :

Ø No of cars sold in India in 2020-21………………………….. 27,11,457

Ø Of the above, no of Electric Cars was……………………….. 4,588 ( 0.0016 % )

[ D ] MARKET SHARE OF VARIOUS INDIAN CARS :

( Source : Average Price Tag Of Cars Sold In India Is Around ₹ 7.7 Lakh ) / All Indian Petrol – Diesel Cars

Srl No	Brand	2018 ave ex showroom price in Rs Lakhs	2018 Vol ( Nos )	% of total	Section %
Sec A					12.3
1	Mitsubishi	29.5	296	-
2	Jeep	18.7	18,319	0.05
3	Skoda	18.1	16,692	0.05
4	Toyota	17.7	1,51,480	4.50
5	Mahindra	10.5	2,27,518	6.80
Sec B					25.6
6	Ford	10.0	97,804	2.9
7	Volkswagen	9.0	37,010	1.1
8	Honda	8.8	1,74,859	5.2
9	Hyundai	8.2	5,50,002	16.4
10	Fiat	7.9	743	-
Sec C					61.8
11	Nissan	7.7 ( Also Ave of entire Mkt )	7,211	0.2
12	Tata	6.6	2,14,489	6.4
13	Maruti	6.2	17,31,450	51.8
14	Renault	5.4	82,368	2.4
15	Datsun	3.4	34,375	1.0
		GRAND TOTAL	3,344,616

[ E ] PRICES OF INDIA-MADE ELECTRIC CARS ( approx. ) – Rs Lakhs

Ø Hyundai Kona Electric ……………………………………… 24

Ø Audi e-Tron………………………………………………………….100

Ø Jaguar i-Pace……………………………………………………….110

Ø Strom Motors R 3……………………………………………………4.5

Ø MG ZS EV………………………………………………………………23

Ø Mercedes Benz EQC…………………………………………….100

Ø Mahindra E Verito …………………………………………………10.5

Ø TATA Tigor EV…………………………………………………………11

Even after reduction of Import Duty from 60 % to 40 % ( approx. reduction of Rs 6 lakh ), Model 3 could sell for ( approx. ) Rs 40 lakh !

There is no way, Tesla could compete with TATA – Mahindra – Strom !

Highly price-conscious Indian customers may even go for new ICE cars which would be FAR CHEAPER than Tesla EV ( even after duty reduction )

[ F ] PRICES OF CHEAP CHINESE ELECTRIC CARS

Ø The Hongguang MINI is available in Chinese market for between 28,800 yuan and 38,800 yuan. This converts to approximately $4,112 and $5,540 or ₹3 lakh and ₹4 lakh.

Ø In China, Hozon Auto’s Neta N01 is one of a slew of low-cost EVs, including the $8,950 e1 minicar from Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. ( approx.. Rs 6.6 lakh )

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-10/cheap-electric-vehicles-in-china-bring-green- transportation-to-the-masses

Ø Chinese EV manufacturers have realized that ,

# In 5 years, Indian EV market will be substantial

# It will be also be a highly “ Price Conscious “ market , where only Electric

Cars selling for less than Rs 10 lakh ( after Central FAME Subsidy +

State subsidy ) will find willing buyers

# To enter this market, they will need to bring into India, their own dozen

( + ) cheap Electric cars

# Apart from a very low up-front price ( as compared to Tesla Model 3 ) ,

there is high probability that the Chinese EV manufacturers will offer

their cars on LEASE basis to EESL / CESL ,something which Tesla may

not offer

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Elon Musk : We offer a GREEN CARPET ………………………………….[ 03 Mar 2021 ]

At long last, TESLA is here ! …………………………………………………….[ 13 Jan 2021 ]

A Brief History of Electric Vehicles in India…………………………….. [ 30 Jan 2021 ]

Thursday, 22 July 2021

Maadhyam : Gateway of ( Business ) India

“ Gateway of India “ is in Mumbai - the Commercial Capital of India

“ India-Gate “ is in Delhi – the Political Capital of India

Both are physical / concrete monuments

Now comes “ Maadhyam “ – the “ Ease of Doing Business “ Portal of India – which could be our VIRTUAL monument ( - conditions listed below, apply )

Context :

Maadhyam portal to help doing business easier / HT / 15 July 2021

Extract :

Ø India will soon launch a national single window system for regulatory clearances that will facilitate domestic as well as global investors in getting over 560 types of regulatory approvals online, including ,

# permission to start a fuel retail business,

# get a permanent exporter license,

# set up a unit in the special economic zone (SEZ),

# register a copyright,

# start a power exchange, or

# obtain license to start a private security agency.

Ø The ‘ease of doing business’ initiative, named as ‘Maadhyam’, is currently under trial and will be launched by the end of this month or the next

Ø According to the trial version, the online system works in three steps :

# Filling a ‘ know your approval ’ (KYA) ,

# Applying for approvals through a single interface, and

# Tracking the status in real time.

Ø Maadhyam is also integrated with the states’ single window systems

Ø India is making efforts to make doing business easier for investors,

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My Comments / Questions :

Ø On this very subject ( Portal to help doing business Better ), over the past 5 years, Govt has already launched the following portals ( primarily targeting Foreign Investors ) :

# https://www.makeinindia.com/ , with following sections :

Sectors / Investor Desk / Opportunities / Policies / Ease of Doing

Business / Listicles / FAQs

# https://www.investindia.gov.in/about-us , with following sections :

Invest India / Initiatives / Opportunities / Country Desk / Resources /

Outreach

In both of these portals, under each section, there are several “ sub-sections “ , providing very detailed and very useful info in respect of “ Doing Business in India “

Although there seems to be some OVERLAP of info being provided

But, to best of my knowledge, neither of these portals have any database of INDIAN COMPANIES ( may be 500,000 ? ), which a foreign investor can,

# Search ( by Industry Name / Location / products – services / organization

/ finances etc )

# Prepare and Store, a list ( or several lists ) of “ Shortlisted Companies “

# Compose / Store / Send out, “ Business Offer Messages “ to shortlisted

Indian companies ( with just ONE CLICK ) / receive their e-mailed

responses / continue online “ Dialogue “

Ø In my view proposed portal MADHYAM should host such a database of Indian

Companies and incorporate a “ Multi- Way Communication “ feature ( between

Foreign Investors / Shortlisted Indian Companies / related Govt Agencies )

Ø This (feature) could be in line with the following links

( www.B2BmessageBlaster.com )

which I had launched in 2015 and later de-hosted ( a demo was given to Shri

Amitabh Kant in Mumbai on 05 Sept 2015 )

Dear Shri Piyush Goyalji,

As repeatedly offered in the past, I would be happy to hand-over the source-code of

www.B2BmessageBlaster.com ,

to your Ministry which is developing MAADHYAM ( absolutely FREE and without any obligation what-so-ever )

At this stage ( before launch of MAADHYAM ), it would be highly desirable to ask :

# Is it not too cumbersome – and expensive – to maintain THREE different

portals on the same / similar / complimentary subject ( and duplicating

some information ) ?

# Will we end up confusing Foreign Investors by trying to simultaneously

promote 3 different portals on the same / similar subject ?

# Is it too late to consider merging / consolidating, all three portals, in

order to make this a truly SINGLE VIRTUAL ENTRANCE to India ?

with regards,

hemen parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 23 July 2021

At long last : BHIM to get a voice ?

Context :

NPCI begins pilot for voice-based payments / ET / 21 July 2021

Extract :

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which has developed key digital payments railroads such as the Unified Payments Interface, Fastag and Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), is now testing a voice-based payments service for feature phone users in low connectivity zones, sources aware of the matter told ET.

The service is likely to be rolled out on top of the interoperable UPI protocol. The key differentiator would be that the feature phone users won’t need a third-party app or stable internet connection to complete their transactions.

MY TAKE :

I am not quite clear as to how exactly this reported “ Voice-based “ payment is planned to work on a feature phone. But it does not look like my own 4 YEAR old suggestion, in the following e-mail :

Do Not Stop Here ! …………………………………………[ 01 Dec 2016 ]

Extract :

Just ask Sundar Pichai , Sam Pitroda , Satya Nadela , Sachin Katti , Pranav Mistry , Sanjay Sarma , Nandan Nilekani etc , if they will help implement the following :

* Buyer buys something worth Rs 100 from a shopkeeper

* Buyer and the Seller, look into their own mobile-cameras ( of smart phones

loaded with M-Rup ) for biometric Aadhar identification, linked to Jan Dhan a/c

* Seller speaks in his mobile : " Muze Sau Rupiah dedo "

* Buyer speaks in his mobile : " Inko Sau Rupiah dedo "

* Message flashes in the mobile screen of Seller : " Tumhare account-me Sau

Rupiah Jamah ho gaya / GST bhi kaat ke Sarkar-ko bhej diya "

* Message flashes in the mobile screen of Buyer : " Tumhare account-se , Sau

Rupiah inko Bhej Diya . Abhi balance me teen sau sath rupiah bacha hai "

But as you can see from following earlier e-mails, I believe that every citizen of India will only use DIGITAL PAYMENT using a smart phone when the payment process becomes truly “ frictionless “ as described above :

ToneTag partners with GMO to expand its sound-based payment solutions in Japan [ 28 May 2019 ]

When BHIM is here, can ARJUN be far away ? ………………………….[ 30 Dec 2016 ]

A Matter of Time ………………………………………………………………………..[ 03 Jan 2017 ]

JUST ONE MORE STEP LEFT …………………………………………………………………………………………..[ 30 Jan 2017 ]

Simplicity : The Ultimate Mobile Wallet ?...............................[ 13 Feb 2017]

Wake Up , BHIM , Wake Up !..............................................................................[ 16 Mar 2017 ]

BHIM : the……………………………………………………………………………..[ 14 April 2017 ]

A Beerud named BHIM ?..................................................[ 17 Apr 2017 ]

Thank You : Beerud………………………………………………………………..[ 23 Apr 2017 ]

Inching Forward ?...........................................................[ 20 May 2017 ]

Let BHIM get MAD !.........................................................[ 21 May 2017 ]

BHIM , the Impersonator ?...............................................[ 17 June 2017 ]

BHIM : Can You tango with GST ?............................................................................[ 19 June 2017 ]

Preloaded BHIM ?............................................................[ 04 July 2017 ]

Closing in on BHIM V 4.0 !...............................................................................[ 05 July 2017 ]

BHIM : the Omnipresent ?.................................................[ 05 Sept 2017 ]

From BHIM 3.0 to BHIM 7.0 ?...............................................................................[ 14 Sept 2017 ]

Not exactly BHIM 4.0…………………………………………………………………[ 19 Sept 2017 ]

BHIM gets a Voice !...........................................................[ 30 Oct 2017 ]

Google, WhatsApp, BHIM ?.................................................[ 14 Dec 2017 ]

BHIM will recognize you………………………………………………………………………………………………[ 30 May 2018 ]

BHIM gets friendly with GST ……………………………………………………………………………………………….[ 04 Aug 2018 ]

Dear Dr. Virendra Kumarji,

[ Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment / vkumar@sansad.nic.in ] :

I urge you to consider this improvement, which will truly empower our 1.4 billion citizen

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 23 July 2021