Tesla to build 3rd Central Florida dealership in Kissimmee

Electric carmaker Tesla is planning to build its second new dealership in as many years in Central Florida, this time in Kissimmee, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

The Elon Musk-led company currently operates one dealership in Maitland/Eatonville and is building a second on State Road 50 in Clermont. The third would go on South Orange Blossom Trail near Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee.

The location is nine miles south of The Florida Mall, where Tesla has a showroom.

The 5.3-acre site is across from the new Orange Blossom Plaza, a new grocery-anchored shopping center that will be built by Atlanta-based SJC Ventures.

Tesla dealerships differ from traditional automakers because they maintain limited inventory on-site with only a small gallery of the models available for pre-order. The bulk of the space is dedicated to service. In Central Florida, the company operates a showroom at The Florida Mall and another in Eatonville, which also serves as the region’s only service center. The carmaker bought a building at 1051 W. Sand Lake Road in 2021 and opened a collision repair center there.

Tesla is America’s most popular electric vehicle manufacturer. The company’s four models ranked first, second, fourth and sixth for total sales in 2022. Last year vehicle deliveries grew 40% year over year, to 1.31 million, while production grew 47% year over year to 1.37 million.

That kind of growth creates demand for additional service bays in locations that are convenient for customers.

The Clermont service center is under construction now and should be completed by the end of the year. At 61,253 square feet, it’s slightly larger than the proposed Kissimmee center.