{"id":1305352,"date":"2026-01-26T01:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T19:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1305352"},"modified":"2026-01-26T01:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T19:54:32","slug":"european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/","title":{"rendered":"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>European cars could soon become far more affordable for Indian buyers as the government moves toward a <strong>sharp reduction in import duties<\/strong> under an upcoming <strong>India\u2013European Union free trade agreement (FTA)<\/strong>. If implemented, the move would mark the most significant liberalisation of India\u2019s highly protected automobile market to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"596\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1-1024x596.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1305354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1-1024x596.png 1024w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1-768x447.png 768w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png 1134w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Big Shift in India\u2019s Auto Trade Policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>India currently levies steep import duties of <strong>70% to 110%<\/strong> on fully built imported cars, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/india\/india-slash-tariffs-cars-40-trade-deal-with-eu-sources-say-2026-01-25\/?utm_source=reddit.com\">policy designed to protect domestic <\/a>manufacturers. Under the proposed plan, tariffs on a <strong>limited number of European cars priced above \u20ac15,000<\/strong> are expected to be cut to <strong>40% immediately<\/strong>, down from current peak levels. Over time, these duties could be reduced further to <strong>as low as 10%<\/strong>, signalling a structural shift in India\u2019s trade stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reduction is expected to apply initially to <strong>around 200,000 internal combustion engine vehicles per year<\/strong>, though final quotas may still be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Free Trade Pact Nearing Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The tariff cut is part of a broader India\u2013EU free trade pact that both sides are expected to announce shortly. Often described as the <strong>\u201cmother of all deals\u201d<\/strong>, the agreement aims to boost bilateral trade, open markets, and strengthen economic ties between India and the 27-nation European bloc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For India, the pact could help offset export pressures in sectors like textiles and jewellery, while for Europe it offers deeper access to one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing consumer markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means for European Carmakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lower import duties would be a major boost for European automakers such as <strong>Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Renault, and Stellantis<\/strong>. While many of these brands already manufacture cars locally in India, high tariffs have limited their ability to import niche or premium models and expand their portfolios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With reduced duties, automakers could <strong>test the Indian market with more models at competitive prices<\/strong> before committing to fresh manufacturing investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Protection for India\u2019s EV Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, <strong>battery electric vehicles will be excluded<\/strong> from tariff reductions for the first five years. This carve-out is aimed at safeguarding investments by domestic players such as <strong>Tata Motors and Mahindra &amp; Mahindra<\/strong>, as India\u2019s EV ecosystem is still in an early growth phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Impact on the Indian Car Market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>India is currently the <strong>world\u2019s third-largest car market<\/strong>, selling about <strong>4.4 million vehicles annually<\/strong>, dominated by Maruti Suzuki and domestic manufacturers. European brands together hold <strong>less than 4% market share<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the market expected to grow to <strong>6 million units annually by 2030<\/strong>, the tariff cut could reshape competition, widen consumer choice, and accelerate foreign investment\u2014potentially redefining India\u2019s automotive landscape over the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/auto\/cars-to-consider-over-volkswagen-tiguan-r-line-under-rs-49-lakh-8170287\">Image Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European cars could soon become far more affordable for Indian buyers as the government moves toward a sharp reduction in import duties under an upcoming India\u2013European Union free trade agreement (FTA). If implemented, the move would mark the most significant liberalisation of India\u2019s highly protected automobile market to date. A Big Shift in India\u2019s Auto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1305354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[1130,6394],"class_list":["post-1305352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automobile","tag-cars","tag-tariff"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40% - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40% - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"European cars could soon become far more affordable for Indian buyers as the government moves toward a sharp reduction in import duties under an upcoming India\u2013European Union free trade agreement (FTA). If implemented, the move would mark the most significant liberalisation of India\u2019s highly protected automobile market to date. A Big Shift in India\u2019s Auto [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-25T19:49:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-25T19:54:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1134\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/\",\"name\":\"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40% - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-25T19:49:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-25T19:54:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png\",\"width\":1134,\"height\":660},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40%\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\",\"description\":\"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile &amp; Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups &amp; Social Media Space\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\",\"name\":\"Mohul Ghosh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mohul Ghosh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40% - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40% - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","og_description":"European cars could soon become far more affordable for Indian buyers as the government moves toward a sharp reduction in import duties under an upcoming India\u2013European Union free trade agreement (FTA). If implemented, the move would mark the most significant liberalisation of India\u2019s highly protected automobile market to date. A Big Shift in India\u2019s Auto [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/","og_site_name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","article_published_time":"2026-01-25T19:49:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-25T19:54:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1134,"height":660,"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Mohul Ghosh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mohul Ghosh","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/","name":"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40% - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png","datePublished":"2026-01-25T19:49:47+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-25T19:54:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png","width":1134,"height":660},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/european-cars-will-be-cheaper-in-india-as-upto-60-tariff-cut-expected\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Import Tariff On European Cars Can Be Reduced To 40%"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/","name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","description":"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile &amp; Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups &amp; Social Media Space","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7","name":"Mohul Ghosh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mohul Ghosh"},"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-26-at-1.14.56-AM-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1305352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1305356,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1305352\/revisions\/1305356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1305354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1305352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1305352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1305352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}