Originally published by Memphis Business Journal; Written by Stephen MacLeod.
A car dealership in Whitehaven is the site of an advanced, ambitious sustainability plan. The project is headed by Young Kim of YK Auto Group, which owns Chuck Hutton Toyota. Chuck Hutton Toyota is spending $7.9 million to transform the dealership into a sustainability model, keying in on solar power and EV chargers, plus even utilizing grass-mowing sheep.
Environmentally sustainable model
Chuck Hutton Toyota’s plan and construction progress drew the notice of the dealership’s parent brand as emblematic of a larger initiative. Mark Yamauchi, sustainability strategy manager at Toyota Motor North America, said that projects like the one at Chuck Hutton Toyota are key to the company’s long-term environmental goals. “We’re all in alignment, and the sort of infrastructure commitment that Young is making here really, really helps us move forward to meet our 2050 goals and to build out the future infrastructure for the automotive industry in an environmentally sustainable way,” Yamauchi said.
However, the eco-friendly initiatives aren’t just for the sake of environmental consciousness. The Chuck Hutton Toyota project’s heavy upfront costs are projected to be eventually offset by revenue from all the green ventures. In total, the company expects about $298,000 in savings and new revenue annually. The dealership is set to run almost entirely on solar power thanks to the solar farm built on a spare lot. It took three years to get approvals for the solar farm, which should provide enough power for the dealership, the EV chargers, and still have some power to spare to sell back to the power grid.
“At the end of the day, all this stuff is going to eventually make money, ” Kim said.
“Right now, we can focus on reinvesting, keep giving back to the environment, and giving back to the community. … If you do that, everything else follows. “The solar panels were installed by Austin, Texas-based Freedom Solar Power. The panels, 1,016 total, are the “latest and greatest,” according to Ryan Ferrero, Freedom Solar’s national director of auto industry electrification. The solar panels are bifacial, meaning the opposite side of the panels can also produce a little bit of extra power, especially on clear and sunny days. The site is to be kept tidy by a flock of grass-clearing sheep, also an environmentally conscious aspect.
The solar panels come with a 30-year warranty. Ferrero said that the project is one of the most advanced in the entire country. “We’re very proud of this great project. We call it a signature project, ” Ferrero said. “I work with dealerships in all 50 states, and this one in Memphis is putting the industry on notice. It’s not California, it’s not Hawaii. We’re in Memphis.” Beyond the solar panels is also an on-site electric vehicle (EV) charging station. California-based ChargePoint installed six state-of-the-art dual chargers featuring its omni-port, which allows any type of EV to plug in and 12 cars to charge simultaneously. ChargePoint’s omni-ports were just announced and the EV chargers at Chuck Hutton Toyota are the first in the U.S. with that feature.
The chargers sit next to a small, 2,200-square-foot building that will allow charging customers to do a wide variety of things to keep themselves busy while they charge their EVs. There will be a kids’ play area, a turf lawn outside, offices with noise-cancelling, snack vending machines, and even a golf simulator. The project is being constructed by local general contractor Grinder Taber Grinder. If all goes according to plan, the dealership plans to celebrate the delivery of the new sustainability projects on its campus on April 22, 2025 — Earth Day.