TESLA has announced the next step in its local expansion plan in anticipation of the higher sales volumes expected from its delayed Model 3 next year.

The company is planning new facilities in both Sydney and Adelaide and will extend its service reach to customers with a mobile servicing program.

The mobile servicing will feature stripped-out Model S and Model X vehicles, initially in major cities, allowing Tesla mechanics to visit owners at home or work for no extra charge.

Speaking with GoAutoNews Premium at a media event in Sydney last week, Tesla senior manager of marketing and communications Heath Walker claimed that there were so few moving parts in the company’s EVs that 80 per cent of service work could be performed without requiring a visit to a service centre.

“We’re moving into Mobile Range servicing (because) only 20 per cent of the work on our vehicles requires a lift (hoist),” he said.

“We love seeing our owners and customers, but it’s inconvenient to bring your car in for a service. So if we can make that as convenient as possible, that’s the end aim.

“It’s far easier to fit out a Tesla Model S or Model X with equipment and go out to someone, which provides better customer service, than build a whole new service centre.

“I’m not sure how many (service) vehicles we’ll have on hand, but I’m sure it will grow in total over time as well. I wouldn’t put a cap on it either because it’s going to be a significant part of our business moving forward.”

Meanwhile, Tesla will this year open a new service and delivery site in Sydney’s Alexandria, which is closer to the airport and affluent Eastern Suburbs than its Sydney CBD brand store and current servicing centre on Sydney’s north shore.

Mr Walker admitted that several buyers in Sydney’s eastern suburbs did not wish to travel over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to collect their EV on the north shore prompting the delivery/service bay to open in the south-east.

Asked why Alexandria was chosen as only a delivery and service outlet, and not a retail sales outlet, he replied: “Partly for the facility itself, the location of our current ownership base from a servicing convenience point of view, and convenience for delivery as well.

“We’re conscious from a retail standpoint that we will build more traditional retail once we have a service setup. (But) we probably didn’t need one (retail sales outlet) in that location, so we concentrated on delivering service for that.”

The deal with the South Australian government – to build and maintain the Tesla Powerpack battery storage facility in Hornsdale – has also led to a planned battery repair and engineering facility set to open in Tonsley Park, the site of the former Mitsubishi Australia factory, later this year.

Not only will the facility service the 129 megaWatt facility, but also Tesla vehicles in South Australia that require service or repair, though it will not be available for customers to walk in.

“It won’t be a customer-facing facility where people come up to a service concierge and leave their vehicle,” Mr Walker explained.

“We would go and do a vehicle collection and take it back if it required lift servicing. It is a great support for our local owners in that market now.”

Mr Walker would not detail the next step in Tesla’s expansion plan, however with the Model 3 now expected to arrive locally in the second half of next year, he confirmed Tesla’s presence would grow by then.

“I think from a servicing point of view and store point of view you will see growth over the next 12 months to support the growth, or the introduction of, Model 3,” Mr Walker said.

“In terms of reaching the demographic, I think we certainly need to concentrate on Melbourne and Sydney. But Brisbane is certainly a positive market as well. I think you’ll see growth in all areas in which we currently operate.”

Currently, Tesla has two stores in Sydney and Melbourne, and one each in Adelaide and Brisbane.

By Daniel DeGasperi