The Michigan Automobile Dealers Association helped pass a bill, HB5606, on October 1 that, if signed, prevents Tesla from opening a store in Michigan.
Forbes reports that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has a bill on his desk that would ban auto companies from selling directly to consumers in the Wolverine State. According to Forbes, the bill doesn’t single out the electric car company, but Tesla is the only big-time auto dealer that insists on selling directly to its customers.
According to The Boston Globe, many states have a dealer franchise law in order to stop manufacturers from competing with their own dealers by underselling them at manufacturer-owned car lots.
James Chen, Tesla’s vice president of regulatory affairs, told lawmakers in November 2013 that the electric car company doesn’t produce enough cars per year to warrant launching Tesla-exclusive dealerships throughout the country.
In the Wolverine State, the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association helped pass a bill, HB5606, on October 1 that, if signed, prevents Tesla from opening a store in Michigan.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the bill would require all car companies to sell through franchised dealers. Tesla claims that the bill would also prevent them from utilizing a gallery (in a mall, for example) to show off their products and talk with consumers about different models.
“The dark-of-night tactics highlight the dealers’ concerns that their arguments don’t stand up well to public scrutiny,” Tesla wrote in a blog post on Thursday.
Tesla is urging consumers to contact Gov. Snyder and ask him to veto the legislation.
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