Tesla Motors keen to continue investment in Australian market : Gundagai, Goulburn and Wodonga Superchargers are go

Tesla Motors will continue its infrastructure investment in Australia, with the brand announcing that Gundagai and Wodonga will join Goulburn as locations for the company’s Supercharger network, which is expected to go live from the end of 2015.

This important route will allow Tesla drivers to tackle the journey from Melbourne to Sydney, Melbourne to Canberra, Sydney to Canberra or vice versa with the requirement to stop only twice along the way. Construction has commenced at the Goulburn location, while Gundagai and Wodonga are still in the planning phase.

“Now that we’ve announced Gundagai, Goulburn and Wodonga [Supercharger locations], it shows the route that we’re taking and the stopping points Melbourne to Sydney and Canberra. We are looking for key destinations where people can stop off, stay for a period of time and enjoy themselves,” said Heath Walker, Tesla Motors’ local marketing and communication manager.

“Having experienced the Supercharger route from LA to San Francisco, it’s quite unique how convenient it actually is to stop off. The benefit of having that free long distance travel is amazing,” Walker said. CarAdvice has had its own experience with the Supercharger network down the west coast of the US â€" watch the video here.

“People won’t need to stop at every Supercharger we put in between Melbourne and Sydney. In most cases they will only need to stop at two. So what this provides is the option to plan your trip according to what you want to do.

“Next year we plan on going to Queensland. We’ll go to Brisbane and north of Brisbane,” Walker said, and the company has stated such plans in the past. “We are also looking at destination charging not only at hotels and shopping centres, but we are looking at how those hotels can actually link someone to a full journey.”

The strong investment in stores and infrastructure locally is supported by the brand’s US headquarters, which apparently remains very pleased with sales results in Australia.

“We’ll continue to do that [invest in Australian infrastructure]. We are doing that with the Supercharger network and opening more stores and service centres and making sure ownership is an increasingly convenient and compelling proposition,” said Tesla Motors communications and public relations specialist, Alexis Georgeson.

“We are so fortunate and it sets this company apart â€" there aren’t that many brands that have the owner evangelists that Tesla has. We are really fortunate and have very cool customers that area drawn to and passionate about the product and talk about.”

The Supercharger network is free for Tesla owners and provides up to 270km of range per 30 minutes of charge. Supercharger locations are strategically positioned in areas where owners are likely to stop while on road trips and often also provide free Wi-Fi and close proximity to food and restrooms.