Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been rapidly expanding its sales network and pushing further and further around the globe. The automaker has certainly been making waves wherever it goes, and CEO Elon Musk even said they expect sales in China to approach those in the U.S. But how well will they do in Canada?
It’s hard to tell at this point, but one thing’s for certain. Just as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had what it took to disrupt the smartphone market and unseat Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB), so Tesla probably has what it takes to disrupt the auto market in Canada.
Tesla’s sales in Canada remain unknown
As Scott Deveau of the Financial Post notes, it’s pretty difficult to tell just how many cars Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has sold in Canada. However, we could still be in the early days of the automaker’s progress there. Tesla only just opened its biggest store and service center in Canada in December. Interestingly enough, the automaker’s flagship Canadian store, which is located in Yorkdale mall in Toronto, is the busiest Tesla store in the world according to foot traffic.
Of course that’s probably due at least in part by the large number of shoppers who go to the mall each year—as many as 30 million. The Tesla store in the mall is located across from an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) store and a Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) store. The automaker is planning to open another store in Vancouver very soon and is looking for additional store spaces in Calgary and Montreal.
Canadian auto dealers fear Tesla
One of the problems Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been dealing with in the U.S. is the fact that it sells its vehicles directly to consumers rather than through auto dealerships. The company has faced much opposition from auto dealers in the U.S. because they remain concerned that Tesla will take a bite out of their sales, in spite of the relatively small amount of cars the company has sold as of yet.
In Canada, auto dealers are also worrying, according to the report in the Financial Post, even though some estimate that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has sold just a few hundred cars there. Porsche dealers in Canada have taken notice of the automaker, however. It’s still too early in the game to know just how much of a disruption Tesla will be in the global auto market, but many agree that it has the potential to be just as much of a disrupter as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was.
