NEW DELHI: A Government delegation from United Kingdom has reached out to India’s key auto lobby group to assuage its fears of India allowing greater market access to United Kingdom-based (UK-based) carmakers under the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two nations. The agreement is at an advanced stage.
The delegation has held meetings with various industry representatives, among them being those of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Business Standard has learnt. The UK’s demand for significant cuts in duty on automobiles, especially electric vehicles (EVs), has been one of the thorny issues in the talks on the FTA deal with India,
The two sides have not been able to meet halfway because the Indian auto industry is resisting deep duty cuts, India imposes 100 per cent import taxes on electric cars that cost more than $40,000 and 70 per cent on the rest.
