Tesla victim of its own success in Denmark: 2 to 3 months wait for service, some owners are furious

Tesla is the victim of its own success in Denmark. After the European country announced the phasing out of its tax break for electric vehicles by the end of 2015, Tesla’s sales surged to an all-time high in the country. The automaker delivered almost as many cars in the last 3 months of 2015 as it did since the introduction of the Model S in 2013.

Buyers rushed to purchase a new Tesla and have it delivered by the end of the year in order to profit from the tax break, but predictably, Tesla’s sales in Denmark virtually vanished in 2016. Now Tesla is having difficulty keeping up with servicing all those vehicles with its limited service presence in the country.

Tesla operates only two service centers in Denmark, which was fine when Tesla was servicing 1,000 vehicles and adding about 250 per quarter, but now its has a fleet of 3,000 vehicles to service and it all happened in only a few months.

Also, considering sales have disappeared (only 49 Model S deliveries in 2016) due to the reinstatement of the tax on EVs, Tesla isn’t really keen on investing in more service centers since the automaker is not likely to see much growth in Denmark in the near future.

The company delivered a few dozens Model X SUVs in the country in the past two months, but that will likely also flatten quickly and Tesla is not expected to see meaningful sales in the country until the Model 3 comes to market.

Current owners are now complaining about long waits in order to get their car serviced, which is leading to bad press for Tesla in Denmark.

DR, Denmark’s oldest and largest media company, published a story (Danish) featuring Tesla owners furious about 2 to 3 months waits for service. The publication cites “hundreds of owners” complaining about the wait on the country’s top Tesla message board, Teslaforum.dk, and the automaker’s “trust score” on company review websites is plummeting.

Some owners are even reportedly going to Germany to get their Model S serviced.

While most owners still say that they are happy with the vehicle itself, it’s not great for Tesla’s image in Denmark, but at least the company says that it is working to address the situation. As previously mentioned, the company is not likely going to invest in a new store, but a spokesperson said that they are working on doubling the capacity at the two current locations in Aarhus and Copenhagen.