A franchised dealer trade body has started legal proceedings against a niche carmaker for opening its own dealerships.
America's National Automobile Dealers Association will sue Tesla, the Californian prestige electric car company, because it has said it will only open its own showrooms, not franchised.
The Wall Street Journal reports NADA claims that this violates state franchise laws designed to prevent carmakers from setting up company stores in competition with independently-owned franchises.
Tesla doesn't have any independent franchised dealerships in its network, but NADA believes the laws apply nonetheless. It wants the carmaker to develop franchises.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk blogged in response that Tesla does not want to change the rules governing motor retail, but there are no franchises which will be harmed by its opening of dealerships.
According to NADA there are 48 states in the USA which have laws preventing manufacturer-owned dealerships.
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An award-winning journalist and editor, with two decades of experience covering the motor retail industry, and accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) plus the National Council for the Training of Journalist (NCTJ)
As editor of AM since 2016, Tim is responsible for its media content, planning and production across AM's multiple channels, including the website, digital reports, webinars, social media and the editorial content of AM's events, Automotive Management Live and the AM Awards. His focus is on interviewing senior leaders of franchised dealer groups and motor manufacturer national sales companies to examine latest developments in UK motor retail.
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