ALMOST seven weeks after opening a flagship store in Sydney’s Martin Place, Tesla is set to expand its presence in Melbourne with the development of a service centre at its Chadstone shopping centre store.

The world’s most successful electric car-maker already has about 600 cars on the roads in Australia and it plans to expand its operations for the launch of its Model X SUV.

Tesla opened its permanent store at the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne in late 2014 (pictured above) and the new service centre is projected to open in October.

The store is planned to house two cars – a Model S and the new Model X – as well as merchandise and the Design Studio with colour and material choices for customers to customising their car.

Chadstone already has a Tesla Destination Charging service for recharging the car in a priority parking area near the Myer store.

Tesla senior marketing and communications manager Heath Walker said Tesla tends to pick shopping centres – or, in the US, shopping malls – as outlets for its cars.

Chadstone will be the first shopping centre service outlet for Tesla in Australia and will be the last shop to be opened by the car-maker in the near future, said to Mr Walker.

“Longer term, we will expand our service centres where we have demand,” he said.

“But we now have sufficient sales shops.”

Tesla has two sales centres in NSW at Lower North Shore in Sydney and Martin Place, and one in Melbourne in Richmond. It also has service centres in Lower North Shore and at its Richmond sales outlet in Victoria.

Tesla abides by general retail hours at Martin Place by opening seven days a week including late nights on Thursdays. It is staffed by six people each day, including sales and test drivers.

As far as market success is concerned, Tesla does not publicise sales – Mr Walker said it was a global decision – and does not subscribe to new-vehicle sales statistician VFACTS.

But it can say that “on a bad day” about 100 people walk through its Sydney store and “on a good day” it’s up to 300.

“We’re going to get a counter at the door because we just don’t have an accurate figure,” Mr Walker said.

Tesla organises events from its Martin Place shop, mainly for corporate clients who want to know more about the brand.

Mr Walker said he averages two events a week though recently demand pushed that to four per week as law firms, banks and investment companies booked after-hours times with Tesla.

It is also holding “electric road trips”, he said, with weekend country trips.

By Neil Dowling