After months of harsh words, the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association has reached a compromise with Tesla Motors that will allow the electric-car company to operate three stores in the state. The deal was negotiated yesterday and then voted on by an Ohio Senate panel; sponsors expect little opposition going forward.

After months of harsh words, the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association has reached a compromise with Tesla Motors that will allow the electric-car company to operate three stores in the state.

The deal was negotiated yesterday and then voted on by an Ohio Senate panel; sponsors expect little opposition going forward.

Tesla can continue to have its stores at Easton and Cincinnati and can open a planned store in the Cleveland area, but it cannot open any additional stores.

�This is a very good compromise,� said Diarmuid O�Connell, Tesla�s vice president for business development, who was present for the committee vote.

The bill specifies that no automaker � apart from the three Tesla locations � can operate manufacturer-owned stores in the state.

Dealers saw Tesla as a threat to a system in which nearly all dealerships are independently owned franchises that are separate from manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors and Toyota.

�It protects the integrity of the law,� said Tim Doran, president of the Ohio Automobile Dealers, referring to the state law that deals with licensing new dealerships.

A version of this was initially proposed in December as an add-on to an unrelated bill. When that didn�t pass, the lead sponsor, Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, introduced it as a separate bill.

Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said the bill, as amended, makes it clear that �if you�r e a manufacturer and you want to sell, you have to sell through (independent) dealers.�

Dealers have argued that Tesla�s two Ohio stores violate existing law, but at least one court has disagreed.

Tesla is fighting versions of this battle in several states, including New Jersey, where a state commission has banned the company�s model of manufacturer-owned stores.

O�Connell said he appreciates that Ohio legislators had an open process and invited Tesla to work on the compromise with dealers. The sides met in person for the first time on March 11, after months of communicating through lawyers and lobbyists.

One dealer had said Tesla was �Armageddon� for traditional dealers, while Tesla officials said dealers were monopolists.

Before the amendment, the Ohio bill would have stopped Tesla from opening stores beyond the two that are already open.

The larger significance is that Tesla and the dealers appear to have settled many of their differences in the state, which reduces the chances of future flare-ups.

Dispatch Reporter Jim Siegel contributed to this story.

dgearino@dispatch.com

@dispatchenergy