Škoda has a blueprint for sustainable dealerships

Buildings made using sustainable materials, with low energy consumption and serving the local community. That’s the blueprint for sustainable Škoda dealerships.

5. 12. 2024 Škoda World

“Dealerships that follow the sustainability principles we’ve laid down will automatically reduce their carbon footprint and qualify for one of Volkswagen Group’s goTOzero certifications,” says Jaromír Kuhn, who worked on the sustainable dealerships design concept. By buying from a sustainable dealership, customers can have a direct impact on the environment where they live. This consideration is going to play an increasingly strong role in customer decision-making. The level of certification achieved by a dealer can thus be an important guide for customers.

Energy saving

Škoda thus helps dealers to make their operations more energy-efficient, for example. The architectural concept lists a number of solutions that improve energy efficiency. These include, for example, energy-efficient lighting, smart heating and ventilation, solar panels, using rainwater or grey water, planting greenery and other ideas. “But we never insist that a dealer has to use this or that solution. We leave that up to the dealers and their designers, who know what technical solutions and which suppliers are best for their area,” says Kuhn. The recipe for sustainable dealerships is therefore technology-neutral. Škoda has also prepared a range of tools for dealers to identify opportunities for efficiency gains. There is an online calculator which lets dealers use data from their own operations to assess the potential for sustainable measures in the fields of energy management, water management or biodiversity.

Interiors use a range of sustainable materials, such as wood.

The Czech carmaker also has recommendations for the construction of the buildings themselves. “It used to be fashionable for dealerships to feature a lot of glazing, but this is now seen as less energy-efficient because it causes overheating of the interior in summer and increases heating requirements in winter,” Kuhn believes. Škoda therefore recommends keeping glazed areas to a minimum, using a suitable orientation to the points of the compass and leaving space for a façade with high-quality thermal insulation. “Of course, we still want to have good light inside the showroom and give the cars space to stand out,” Kuhn says, emphasising that the new strategy certainly doesn’t mean showrooms without windows.

And he adds that for existing dealerships, such as the recently renovated ones in the Latvian capital Riga and in Belgrade in Serbia, it doesn’t make sense to remove glass façades during renovation. “There are technical solutions available to improve their insulation capabilities,” he says.

The recently renovated dealership in Belgrade.

Using sustainable materials when building or renovating showroom is also important. “What is sustainable in one location may not be sustainable in another. In Scandinavia, for example, we have good façades made of wood, but in Dubai, for example, wood definitely wouldn’t be sustainable, because it would have to travel halfway around the world, and that goes against the principles of sustainability,” Kuhn explains. In that case it’s worth considering aluminium, glass and other materials.

A range of functions serving the community

Škoda also pays attention to the social dimension of sustainability in its dealerships. The building itself should blend in with its surroundings. Another objective is that the building should offer additional functions on top of car sales and service. “In Riga, for example, they’ve opened a café. The dealership is also next to a cycle path, so there is a bike repair stand. In another Latvian city, Jelgava, a co-working centre has been incorporated into the dealership,” Kuhn says, mentioning possible alternative functions. This could also involve having more greenery on the site. Škoda wants to ensure its showrooms can reach out to the local community even when people don’t need anything car-related.

Sustainable dealerships also use green façade elements.

Škoda’s architectural concept has even taken the need for easy conversion of buildings into account. This is not only because the dealership’s requirements can change, but because dealerships can one day close down. “If a showroom is relocated, for example, it should be easy to reuse the original building for another purpose, instead of demolishing it and erecting a new one,” Kuhn explains. That’s why Škoda recommends simple cube-like shapes and modular interior layouts for new buildings. The second pilot dealership in Jelgava, for example, was built according to these principles.

Interior of the dealership in Belgrade.

Matters linked to corporate identity and brand design come after these sustainability principles. “We want the dealerships to be sustainable first and foremost – only then should they boast their brand affiliation,” Kuhn says, making it clear that brand identity does not take precedence over sustainability. This is, in fact, one of the reasons for gradually transforming the visual identity of dealerships, which Škoda kick-started in 2022 by unveiling its new visual style.

The future of sustainable dealerships

In 2024, Škoda became the first Volkswagen Group brand to support the goals of the goTOzero RETAIL strategy by agreeing on implementation plans with selected European markets and India. These plans aim to contribute to the decarbonisation commitments shared by the entire global dealer network, with one of the key milestones being a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2030. “We believe that our tools, including the architectural concept, combined with a clear implementation plan will now help to significantly accelerate the transformation of the dealer network,” Kuhn concludes.