Leading American automaker Tesla still managed to record a 55% year-on-year sales growth so far this month despite IF Metall’s ongoing strike in Sweden, local publication CarUp reports.
IF Metall strike
Tesla Sweden is currently struggling with an intensifying strike from a Swedish feminist trade union due to the “lack of a collective bargaining agreement” on employees’ working conditions, Electrek reported early this month.
Since the start of the strike, the union employed various strategies to impede Tesla’s operations in Sweden, such as blocking customer deliveries. It is also now working to stop ports from receiving Tesla’s imports.
Despite these efforts, the union seems to fall short of its goal of boycotting the electric vehicle giant. In fact, Tesla’s sales and deliveries continuously increased amid the strike.
Tesla’s presence in Sweden
Tesla currently has no electric vehicle production factory in Sweden, so it only relies on imports.
According to Teslarati, Tesla’s electric vehicle registrations reached 858 units so far in November. It indicates a significant growth of 55% from the same period last year.
In September, plug-in vehicles’ share of the market surged 63.4% in Sweden. Unsurprisingly, Tesla’s popular Model Y led the overall auto sales in the country by a large margin.
CleanTechnica reported that Tesla Model Y’s sales reached 3,050 units in September, beating all other competitors in September. This year to date, it already recorded 13,457 registrations.
Complications
IF Metall seems to be very determined to force Tesla to sign a collective agreement. However, Tesla also appears to be reluctant to have any agreement with the union.
The two parties apparently met on November 1 and 6 to negotiate, prompting IF Metall’s Vali-Pekka Säikkälä to conclude that “there will be no agreement.”
A Tesla representative was also quoted in the Swedish national wire service TT, expressing the company’s disappointment with the ongoing strikes.
“It is unfortunate that IF Metall has taken these measures. Tesla follows Swedish labor market regulations, but like many other companies has chosen not to enter into a collective agreement. We already offer equivalent or better agreements than those covered by collective bargaining and find no reason to sign any other agreement.”
Tesla representative
Despite the union’s major effort to impede Tesla’s business in the country, the automaker still succeeds in increasing sales and deliveries. It only demonstrates Tesla’s resiliency and strong presence in Sweden. In fact, Tesla disclosed that over 90% of its service technicians are still working despite the strike.
