Tesla Auckland South official opening well attended

Hundreds of people poured into Tesla Auckland South for its official opening on July 29, perhaps tempted by Tesla test drives and “light bites” with the Tesla team.

The first Tesla sales, service, parts and delivery location combined in New Zealand, the 28,000 square metre site at 147 Kirkbride Road in Mangere has a huge “one-stop shop” collision repair and parts building.

Tesla Auckland South has many EV chargers too, including ones at the front where people can charge their EVs for free, although these tend to be slower chargers than the ones at nearby Sylvia Park.

Close to Auckland Airport and main highways, Tesla Auckland South has about 40 staff, 60 delivery bays, 16 hoists, a vehicle wash bay which uses and recycles rainwater collected on site, and Powerwall batteries using rooftop solar to help power the site (Powerwall batteries are sold through agencies such as Harrisons Solar).

Tesla won’t say how much it cost to lease and the work dollar value it has done, but it’s a fair bet that all runs into millions of dollars.

The site and warehouses were offered by Bayleys for lease by negotiation, the listing citing an area of about 15,740 square metres of modern facilities “built with sustainability in mind”, including 48 car parks and “ample” yard and canopy areas allowing large containers.

Tesla opened its premises there in May this year but had the official opening in July with a media preview from 10am to 11am, followed by the opening event for the public until about 2pm.