(Reuters) -Tesla will ship a staff to India this month to scout places for a proposed $2 billion to $3 billion electrical automobile plant, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Tesla’s reported push into India comes at a time when EV demand is slowing and competitors heats up in its principal markets of the U.S. and China, inflicting the EV maker to report a drop in first-quarter deliveries and lacking estimates.

The firm will ship a staff from the United States by late April to check websites for the plant, with a concentrate on states which have automotive hubs resembling Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the report mentioned, citing individuals aware of the matter.

Tesla didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters requests for remark.

India final month lowered import taxes on sure electrical automobiles produced by carmakers that commit to take a position at the very least $500 million and begin home manufacturing inside three years.

The EV maker’s CEO Elon Musk has been making an attempt to enter the Indian marketplace for years however New Delhi needed a dedication to native manufacturing.

Tesla officers have been in talks with authorities officers over the past yr, with Musk assembly Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June.

The firm mentioned in July final yr that it was fascinated about constructing a manufacturing unit in India to provide an EV priced at $24,000. It additionally known as for decrease taxes on dearer fashions it needs to promote in India, Reuters has reported.

Tesla’s potential entry into the Indian market might spur additional EV investments and will profit auto components makers primarily based in India, analysts have mentioned.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)