What Are the Electrical Requirements for a Car Dealership or Vehicle Showroom in Sydney?

What electrical work does a car dealership or vehicle showroom in Sydney actually need? A dealership needs its switchboard sized for three very different loads at once: a bright retail showroom floor, a three phase service workshop with hoists and compressors, and a growing bank of EV chargers for stock and customer vehicles. Getting the load calculation, circuit separation and RCD protection right at the design stage avoids a forced switchboard upgrade twelve months after opening, which is the single most common problem we see in dealership fitouts across Sydney.

⚡ Quick Answers: Car Dealership Electrical Requirements

• Does a dealership need three phase power? Almost always yes, for hoists, air compressors, diagnostic equipment and any EV charger bank serving more than a couple of vehicles at once.
• Can the workshop share a switchboard with the showroom? It can, but most dealerships are better served by a dedicated workshop submain so a compressor fault or overload never trips showroom or office circuits.
• How many EV chargers can a dealership run on one supply? It depends on the available maximum demand after the showroom and workshop loads are accounted for, which is why a proper demand calculation comes before chargers are ordered.
• Does showroom and workshop wiring need RCD protection? Yes, every final subcircuit up to 32 amps in a commercial installation needs a 30 milliamp safety switch under AS/NZS 3000.
• Who signs off a new three phase service or switchboard upgrade? A Level 2 Accredited Service Provider, because the work touches the network's service mains and metering, not just the customer's internal wiring.
• What's the biggest mistake dealerships make with power planning? Sizing the switchboard for the day one fitout only, with no spare capacity for the EV chargers and extra hoists that get added within the first two years.

1. Sizing the switchboard for three distinct loads

A dealership switchboard has to account for showroom lighting and point of sale equipment, workshop machinery, and EV charging, and each one behaves differently under AS/NZS 3000's demand tables. Retail floor space is assessed at an average of around 70 VA per square metre for light and power, while a service workshop sits in the light industrial band, typically 15 VA per square metre for general power plus a separate allowance for air conditioning. Treating the whole site as one generic retail tenancy almost always under sizes the workshop and leaves no headroom for chargers.

We start every dealership quote with a proper maximum demand calculation across all three zones, then size the main switchboard and submains with enough spare capacity for growth. This is the same discipline we apply to any switchboard upgrade, and it is far cheaper to plan correctly now than to call us back for an emergency capacity upgrade later.

2. Three phase power for the service workshop

Hoists, tyre machines, air compressors and diagnostic bays all run more efficiently on three phase power, and most dealership service departments need it from day one. If the site only has a single phase connection, moving to three phase is a job for a Level 2 ASP because it usually means a new service or an upgraded consumer mains connection from the network, not just internal rewiring. See our guide to a single phase to three phase upgrade for how that process works and what triggers network involvement.

Each hoist, welder or large compressor should sit on its own dedicated circuit sized to its locked rotor or starting current, not shared with general workshop power points. This keeps a faulty hoist isolator from taking down the whole bay, and it is the same principle we apply on automotive workshop jobs generally, including panel and smash repair shops that need dedicated compressor and welder circuits of their own.

3. Showroom and forecourt lighting

Showroom lighting carries real commercial weight for a dealership, since it is doing double duty as both a workplace lighting system and a sales tool that makes paintwork and finishes look their best. AS/NZS 3000's retail demand figures assume a meaningfully higher lighting load than a typical office, and that has to be reflected in the circuit design, not bolted on afterwards with extra double adaptors. Forecourt and car park lighting is a separate circuit again, usually run off its own switchboard way with weatherproof fittings and photocell or timer control.

If you are planning a showroom refit alongside a change of layout or branding, it is worth reading our broader guide to commercial electrical fitout planning before the shopfitter locks in a floor plan, since moving display zones after the switchboard is finished is far more expensive than planning power and lighting together from the start.

4. EV charging for stock and customer vehicles

EV charging is now a genuine line item in dealership power planning, not an afterthought, because stock vehicles need overnight charging and customer facing chargers are becoming a real expectation for new car buyers. AS/NZS 3000 treats EV charging as a demand load in its own right, separate from general lighting and power, which is exactly why a charger bank cannot simply be plugged into whatever spare capacity happens to be sitting on the switchboard. Our guide to commercial EV charging solutions covers how we size a charger bank against the rest of a site's demand.

For dealerships running more than a handful of chargers, load management hardware that shares available capacity across chargers is often more cost effective than paying for a full switchboard upgrade just to run every charger at maximum output simultaneously. We cover the mechanics of this in our article on EV charger load management, which applies just as directly to a dealership forecourt as it does to a strata car park.

Where a dealership's own on site capacity cannot support the charger count planned, the next lever is usually a private power pole or an upgraded connection from the street, the same work covered on our private power pole installation service page. A dealership fitting out a new site on Sydney's growing EV retail corridor benefits from the same three phase capacity planning we set out for private power pole customers generally, as covered on HD Power Pole's guide to three phase power through a private power pole.

5. Keeping RCD protection on every commercial circuit

Under AS/NZS 3000 Clause 2.6.3.2.3.3, every non domestic final subcircuit rated up to 32 amps supplying socket outlets, lighting or hand held equipment needs additional protection from a 30 milliamp residual current device. That applies across a dealership's showroom, office, workshop and forecourt circuits alike, and it is one of the first things we check on an electrical safety inspection of an older dealership site that has been added to piecemeal over the years.

Workshop RCDs deserve particular attention because of the mix of hand tools, extension leads and damp conditions from washdown bays, which is exactly the kind of increased shock risk environment the standard calls out specifically.

Why it's Level 2 ASP work

Any new three phase connection, consumer mains upgrade or additional metering point for a dealership's workshop or charger bank sits outside a standard electrician's licence and needs a Level 2 ASP, because the work connects to or alters the network's own service mains. We handle this end to end, from the consumer mains installation through to final connection with Ausgrid or Endeavour Energy, so the dealership only deals with one contractor rather than coordinating a standard electrician and a separate network applications specialist.

How High Demand Electrical helps

We are one of Sydney's most trusted Level 2 ASPs for commercial fitouts, and dealership and showroom sites are a category we see often, from independent used car yards to full franchise rebuilds. We handle the maximum demand calculation, the switchboard and submain design, the three phase workshop wiring, the showroom and forecourt lighting circuits, and the EV charger bank in one coordinated job, rather than leaving the dealership to stitch together separate contractors for each piece. As a licensed local team, not a call centre, we service dealerships and vehicle showrooms across Sydney's West, South West and Sutherland Shire, with the same crew available for the switchboard upgrade that inevitably follows a few years after the original fitout.

Car Dealership Electrical FAQs (Sydney)

Can an existing dealership switchboard be upgraded without closing the showroom?

In most cases yes. We plan switchboard and submain upgrades around trading hours and can often complete the network side of the work with a short planned outage rather than a full day off the floor. See our switchboard upgrades page for how we sequence this kind of job.

Do EV chargers for stock vehicles need their own metering?

Not always, but if the dealership wants to track charging costs separately from the rest of the site, a dedicated sub meter can be added at the same time as the charger circuits are installed. See our smart meter upgrades page for how sub metering typically works on a commercial site.

How much does a dealership switchboard upgrade cost in Sydney?

It depends entirely on the existing capacity, the number of workshop bays and chargers planned, and whether a new three phase service is required. Every job needs a site assessment before we can confirm scope or pricing.

Is three phase power compulsory for a dealership workshop?

No, but most dealership workshops are built around equipment that either requires three phase or runs significantly better on it, so almost every working service department ends up with a three phase connection. See our single phase to three phase upgrade guide for the process.

Who do I call if the dealership switchboard trips during business hours?

Call our emergency make safe line straight away, on 0402 559 777, so we can isolate the fault safely and get the showroom and workshop back on supply with minimal disruption to trading.

Get a Switchboard Upgrade Quote: Call High Demand Electrical on 0402 559 777 to arrange a site assessment for your dealership or showroom fitout. Every job needs an on site assessment before scope or pricing can be confirmed.