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BMW Group India is unfazed by the prospect of Tesla entering the electric vehicle market here and feels it will help grow the segment, according to its Managing Director and CEO Vikram Pawah. The group, which sold a total of 1,249 units of electric cars in India across two brands -- BMW and MINI -- has already sold 646 units in the first quarter of 2025 and is keeping its forecast of 15 per cent of its total sales in India coming from EVs, Pawah told PTI in an interview. "I think the market should grow. Anytime there's more competition, we've seen that the market grows," he said when asked how BMW is looking at how the EV market will shape up with Tesla entering India. When asked about competition from the American electric car maker, Pawah said,"In all the markets in the world, we coexist. We all coexist and you can see last year figures worldwide, we were the ones who were growing. We grew in electric sales worldwide." Not many manufacturers can talk about growth in electric vehicles, he asserted. In 2024, the BMW Group sold a total of 4,26,594 fully-electric vehicles and achieved BEV-sales growth of 13.5 per cent. Both BMW and MINI brands posted double-digit BEV growth, with sales of 3,68,523 units (11.6 per cent) and 56,181 units (24.3 per cent), respectively. In February, Tesla opened recruitments for various roles in India, including business operations analyst and customer support specialist, in what could be a precursor for the company's entry into the country. On BMW Group's EV growth prospects in India, Pawah said at present it accounts for 17 per cent of total sales. The group had reported a 7 per cent increase in its car sales in India at 3,914 units in the January-March period of 2025. "Our target was 15 per cent of total sales to come from EVs in 2025 and we will exceed it. If we get to 20 per cent, let's see but 15 per cent was our target. We are happy with that and we are on track," Pawah noted. With BMW slated to launch one of its best selling models, X3 in the second quarter, Pawah said the proportion of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles is expected to grow and hence the company was setting a target of 15 per cent sales from EVs in 2025.

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday dismissed the false propaganda surrounding the 'One Nation, One Election' concept, clarifying that it will not be implemented in the upcoming elections. Speaking at an event near here, she noted that around Rs 1 lakh crore was spent during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and such a massive expenditure could be saved through simultaneous elections. "If simultaneous elections are held for electing the members of Parliament and Assembly, about 1.5 per cent growth will be added to the country's GDP. In value terms, Rs 4.50 lakh crore will get added to the economy. This is a black and white example of One Nation One Election' concept", she said. Sitharaman accused certain parties of "spreading a false campaign" on the 'One Nation One Election' initiative, blindly opposing it. She clarified that simultaneous polls are planned to take place only after 2034 and the groundwork is being laid now for the then President to give his assent. "This concept was widely discussed on several occasions. It was not something introduced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This' One Nation One Election' was in existence till the 1960s. Instead of blindly opposing it, if it has been supported considering its benefit, the 'One Nation One Election' concept will make the country move forward," the union minister remarked. Sitharaman claimed that the late DMK Patriarch M Karunanidhi had supported the 'One Nation One Election' concept, but his son and the current Chief Minister (M K Stalin) is not following in his father's footsteps and instead opposing it. Sitharaman reiterated that the 'One Nation One Election' concept was not someone's "pet" project, but has been planned considering the welfare of the country. In her about 30 minute speech, the Union Minister clarified that simultaneous polls refers to conduct of Parliamentary and Assembly polls and not local body elections. "There has been talk that simultaneous polls referring to elections will be conducted even at that Municipality level. It is not. It only pertains to the conduct of Parliamentary and Assembly polls together" she said. She recalled that in the 1961-1970s three elections were conducted within 10 years in five states, including Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and West Bengal. Again, in the 1971 to 1980s, four elections were conducted in more than 14 States within 10 years. Drumming up support for ONOE, Sitharaman said frequent conduct of Parliamentary and Assembly polls disrupts public welfare administration and affects developmental activities when the Model Code of Conduct is enforced. "For example, even if an ambulance has to pass through a vital road, if the road has been laid but was not inaugurated due to implementation of model code of conduct, in view of elections, it gets affected," she said. She clarified that she was not opposed to the implementation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) but at the same time, a project gets stalled and one has to wait until the MCC is lifted. Another important aspect of holding simultaneous polls is that nearly Rs 12,000 crore would be saved to the exchequer, she said and added that such a huge sum can be used for various people welfare schemes instead of spending in elections. "A Parliamentary Standing Committee comprising MPs from all the parties participated in a discussion on simultaneous polls and recommended it and again in 2018, Niti Ayog suggested conducting One Nation, One Election concept," she said. In 2019, another all party meeting was convened on holding One Nation, One Election in which out of 19 political parties, 16 of them approved it while CPM, RSP and AIMIM from Hyderabad opposed it. Sitharaman also referred to deployment of para-military forces as in the 2019 elections, several lakhs of personnel were involved in poll related activities instead of carrying out their regular work while 25 lakh election administrative officials participated in the conduct of the polls in 12 lakh booths. With the implementation of One Nation, One Election, voter percentage would also increase in states, she added.