Tesla Rival BYD Hits Roadblocks In India Amid Tensions With China While Elon Musk-Led EV Giant Kickstarts Operations

Benzinga
2025.07.28 08:00
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BYD Co. Ltd. is facing challenges in expanding its operations in India due to strained relations between India and China. The company's managing director has been unable to secure a visa, forcing meetings to be held in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Additionally, BYD's $1 billion investment plan in India was rejected, leading to high tariffs on imports. This situation arises as Tesla enters the Indian market, opening a showroom in Mumbai. Meanwhile, BYD continues its global expansion, particularly in Europe, despite a decline in domestic sales in China.

BYD Co. Ltd. BYDDY BYDDF is struggling to expand into the Indian market amid rival Tesla Inc.'s TSLA debut in the region.

What Happened: Tense relations between New Delhi and Beijing are proving to be a difficult hurdle for the Chinese EV giant's India growth, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

BYD's managing director in India, Ketsu Zhang, has been unable to obtain a visa from the Indian authorities since leaving BYD's local base in the Indian city of Chennai, the report suggests.

Tensions between the two nations rose following a skirmish on a disputed border in the Himalayas resulted in the deaths of multiple personnel in 2020.

The company has had to resort to holding meetings in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, as well as Kathmandu in Nepal. However, the report also suggests that some of BYD's personnel based in India were denied visas to visit Shenzhen for a meeting.

The Indian government has also rejected a $1 billion investment plan from the EV maker to set up a facility in India, the report suggests. The rejection leads BYD to face heavy tariffs, as the company imports most of its inventory in India.

Why It Matters: BYD's struggle to expand in India coincides with Tesla's entry, as the company set up a showroom in India's commercial hub Mumbai, where the company will initially sell the Model Y SUV.

However, Tesla is only one side of Elon Musk's India play, as the billionaire's space-based satellite internet company Starlink also cleared regulatory hurdles and obtained its license to operate in India.

On the other hand, BYD's global expansion has been in full swing as the company's European plans come into shape with the brand's luxury-focused subsidiary, Yangwang, set to debut in the region later next year.

The automaker has already achieved over 60% of its overseas sales target of 800,000 units, despite domestic sales in China slipping by over 8% YoY during June.

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