Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TO) is designing more than just eco-friendly hybrid vehicles. The Japanese car maker expects to have 100 environmentally friendly dealerships built by 2011, according to a Wall Street Journal Report.
The "green" dealerships will be based on a prototype store design that includes lifts lubricated with vegetable oil, geothermal heating systems, organic soaps for washing vehicles and water reclamation systems, among other features.
By following the prototype design, dealers can automatically gain environmentally friendly certifications, according to the report.
100 dealerships represent a little less than 10% of the company’s U.S. dealer network.
"I think 100% that this is going to be an angle we can leverage with customers," said Ryan LaFontaine, general manager of the LaFontaine Automotive Group, which invested about $2 million in green initiatives for a new multi-brand auto dealership in Highland, Michigan. The dealership hopes the store will receive the top certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
Toyota also said it will announce an initiative through which about a dozen other dealers can receive assistance in building new, energy efficient facilities.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) is reportedly following suit. Bill Hepburn, an executive responsible for dealer relations, said he is talking to GM’s U.S. dealers about environmentally friendly makeovers.
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