Tesla to Add Service Centers to Stores Relocated to the Suburbs of China's Big Cities

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Tesla is reviewing its sales and service policies for its Chinese customers. The manufacturer is considering moving some stores in luxury malls in major cities to the suburbs, sources say. In addition to sales, such locations will offer after-sales service to increase customer satisfaction.

Tesla continues to improve in sales and service, trying to find the best option to meet the needs of its customers in today's market situation. According to Channel News Asia, citing sources, Tesla will begin to focus more on stores in less expensive suburban areas. Such locations will be able to accommodate service centers, which will be in line with the company's goal of improving service to existing customers.

One source said that Tesla plans to expand the hiring of technicians and other personnel to work in the service sector in China. The company's website has more than 300 service jobs in the country, at the moment. Earlier, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he personally took up the improvement of the work of Tesla's service centers, after which significant changes have been observed.

In addition, Tesla mainly sells its cars online, so having stores located in expensive malls may be redundant. The demand for the manufacturer's vehicles is so high that it has a long wait list, and so it may not need stores in upmarket malls. During the first eight months of 2022, Tesla sold 400,000 Giga Shanghai-made cars, according to the China Passenger Car Association. More than 60% of the cars were sold in the local market, which is 67% more than a year ago. This is a great indication of the demand for Tesla vehicles in China.

“It's not necessary to open showrooms in expensive shopping malls, especially when the repair business has become lucrative,” said Yale Zhang, managing director at Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. “It makes better sense to keep only one or two showrooms downtown to keep the brand positioning but move more to suburbs.”

Tesla currently has more than 200 stores across the country, half of which are in major cities. However, more than half of the stores do not offer Tesla vehicle maintenance because they are located in areas with high rents and limited space. Given the new realities, it makes more sense for the manufacturer to expand service—making it the main focus—in order to significantly increase customer satisfaction.

© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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