Solar PV for Automotive Dealerships & Service Centres
Car dealerships have showroom lighting, workshop power, customer EV charging and increasingly large daytime EV demand from the service department. Here is how solar fits.
Automotive dealerships are an increasingly active commercial solar segment driven by manufacturer ESG mandates (Stellantis, JLR, BMW, VW Group all require franchised dealers to demonstrate decarbonisation progress) and the rapid growth of customer EV charging demand. KMM has designed dealership installs for franchised sites in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.
What makes this sector specifically work
Why a dealership's energy profile suits solar
A dealership uses most of its electricity while the sun is up. Showrooms are lit and air-conditioned through opening hours, workshops run lifts, compressors and diagnostic equipment through the working day, and valeting bays add pressure washers and vacuums. That daytime shape means a well-sized system is used on site rather than exported, which is where solar earns most.
Roof, canopy or both
Workshop and parts-store roofs are usually the best starting point: large, plain and often steel-portal. Showroom roofs are often glazed or curved, so the forecourt and staff parking can carry a solar carport instead, which also shades stock and gives customers covered parking. We survey every roof by drone before proposing a layout, so the structural check comes first.
EV charging changes the numbers
Demonstrators, customer handovers and service-plan charging add a growing daytime load. Designing the chargers and the solar together lets the array cover more of that demand, and a battery can hold midday surplus for late-afternoon charging. The chargers and the solar usually go to the DNO in the same G99 application; our EV chargepoint consultancy and grid connection consultancy pages cover both sides.
Tax relief and funding
Solar PV and batteries are special-rate plant, so Full Expensing does not apply; the Annual Investment Allowance gives a 100% first-year deduction on up to £1m of qualifying spend a year. Groups that prefer not to spend capital can look at a commercial solar PPA instead. In the East Midlands, see our regional commercial solar page for yields and grid context.
Common KMM project shape for this sector
A typical automotive dealerships & service centres install starts with a drone-led roof survey, MPAN HH-data import, sector-specific load modelling, and a bound ROI proposal inside 5 working days. We work across the UK and the immediate surrounding counties for installs of this scale.
Talk to KMM about your automotive dealerships & service centre
Use the commercial quote form (linked below) and we will get back to you with a desktop assessment inside 5 working days. No deposit, no pressure.
Dealership solar FAQs
Get a dealership solar proposal
Free drone survey of the showroom, workshop and forecourt roofs, with the EV charging load modelled in.
Request a commercial proposal for your project
Tell us about your roof, your bills and your goals. KMM runs a fully funded electrical & structural survey, designs a system, runs the numbers and tells you honestly whether solar makes sense for you. No deposit, no pressure.
Request Commercial Quote → Call 0115 647 3822