NADA Chairman's view of Tesla sales

[GrySql]

“The advantages of the dealer franchise system are numerous,” explained Bill Fox, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

“The first and foremost one is, we’re the face of the manufacturer in every small town in America,” said Fox. “We’re the guy that hires the local people, we pay for the cars, we support the local economy.” According to Fox, dealerships collected a whopping 15 percent of all the sales taxes in the U.S. last year.

 

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Edited October 12, 2015 by GrySql

[corncobs]

No offense to the guys here but he is an old man.

 

I can't explain why it's inconvenient if after my car breaks down, it's being picked up and I'm left with a loaner car. In my book that's the ultimate convenience.

Compare to me being able to get my car in for service is a 1 hr process and my wife driving the second car.

[hybridbear]

The Tesla service model is one of the things that really sets them apart. That along with over-the-air software updates.

[machoman1337]

I have no problem with the lack of a franchised dealer (Tesla's way), nor do I have a problem going to a traditional franchise. I've had good and bad experiences with dealers (the used-car-only dealers are the ones to avoid btw, I bought my first Fusion from one, huge mistake).

 

IMO it's just like how you can choose to buy your phone and service straight from a Rogers store, or you can buy the exact same stuff (including Rogers service) from Best Buy. Why not just encourage competition instead of whining? If the Tesla store is getting better business and reviews, it's because their staff are doing a good job. A franchised dealership can earn the same respect by having its staff do a good job.

 

Besides, with prices of Teslas the way they currently are, it's not like your average Toyota or Ford dealership would have much to worry about. Plus, the lack of charging infrastructure in many parts of the continent continues to put off even well-heeled buyers, so luxury car dealerships are also relatively safe as well. In fact, many Tesla owners do own a more "traditional" second car for long trips!

[talmy]

NADA is obviously biased on this! The Tesla story reminds me of Apple. Apple used to only sell through dealers, but they didn't like the inconsistent customer experience. So they created their own network of stores with trained, salaried employees. There is a world of difference buying a computer at an Apple store than at, say, Best Buy (which still sell Apple computers). I expect the same would be true of a Tesla store versus a Ford dealer.

[CCalvinN]

I think with Tesla being a, more or less, boutique auto maker their system works fine for now. Tesla sold about 35,000 Model Ss last year. That's a drop in the bucket compared to Ford's nearly 2.5 million units sold. At their size and growth curve, their current sales/service/delivery model should work fine. But if they want to continue to grow and get anywhere NEAR the big three, they'll have to relinquish control. I'm sure at the end of the day Tesla wants to be a car company and not a car sales company.

 

As for NADA's complaints... well of course their biased. They are an association and lobby group working for their current membership. They don't like the idea of anything or anybody rocking their boat.