Tesla Doubled Service Staff in Norway Last Year, DN Reports
(Bloomberg) -- Tesla Inc. doubled service staff in Norway last year, seeking to address customer frustration at service delays in one of its top markets before delivering the new Model 3, daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported Saturday.
Tesla’s operations in Norway are closely watched, as the country has the world’s highest number of electric cars per inhabitant thanks to generous government incentives for low-emission vehicles. The Nordic country has become the California-based carmaker’s third-biggest market. But staff shortages at the firm resulting in long service queues have angered customers.
The firm’s Norwegian unit hired more than 360 service employees in 2018, doubling headcount in the department, Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing the company’s regional service manager, Dag Rune Rensmoen.
A Tesla spokesman in Norway didn’t immediately respond on Saturday to an emailed request for comment on the report.
Tesla has 13 service centers in Norway and is working to get two more running as soon as possible, spokesman Even Sandvold Roland told DN. The company also got approval for mobile service units last year, allowing it to test three of them through June.
Tesla is expecting to send its first Model 3 cars to Norway in February, but declined to say how many will be delivered, according to the report.
The European Model 3 launch is viewed as a key event this year for Tesla, which announced earlier this month it was cutting jobs to navigate what Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk called a “very difficult” road ahead.
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