India: After Tesla, now Mercedes-Benz calls for reduced import duty on cars

India: After Tesla, now Mercedes-Benz calls for reduced import duty on cars

At present, India levies a hundred percent duty on wholly imported cars with CIF value (cost, insurance and freight) more than $40,000 and 60% on those costing anything less than that.


German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz has supported rival Tesla's call for reducing taxes on imported cars in India.

Calling the import duty "outrageous", Mercedes said customers in India could end up buying the cars at double the price paid by buyers in the US to what buyers in the US and other western markets.

At present, India levies a hundred percent duty on wholly imported cars with CIF value (cost, insurance and freight) more than $40,000 and 60% on those costing anything less than that.

"Currently it is not possible to localise all new technologies, including electrics, in India due to the low levels of sales volumes we have here. We can't get customers at these duty levels, " Martin Schwenk, the MD of Mercedes-Benz in India,

Schwenk added that cutting down the import duty would help build a market for new cars that carry global technologies.

Mercedes, which sells the most number of luxury cars in India, joined Tesla's Elon Musk in appealing for reduced import duties.

Musk had, in a Twitter interaction two months ago, called India's import duty "highest in the world", and said Tesla was ready to set up a factory in the country if it got a 'temporary relief'.

India: After Tesla, now Mercedes-Benz calls for reduced import duty on cars