In short
- A dealership's load is almost all in daylight: showroom lighting and air conditioning seven days, the workshop six, detailing and the car wash. Self-use is high.
- EV chargers are changing the bill. Daytime charging of demonstrators and customer cars is a load solar can feed; DC fast chargers add a demand charge solar alone won't fix.
- Most dealerships lease the site. Sort out who owns the system and what happens at lease end before anyone quotes.
Solar pays well for a car dealership in Australia in 2026, because almost everything a dealership does happens while the sun is up. The showroom is lit and air-conditioned from 8am to 6pm seven days, the workshop runs compressors, hoists and tyre machines six days, and the wash bay and detailing run through the middle of the day. A system sized to that load is used on site 80 to 90% of the time, with exports a rounding error. EV chargers add a new load that fits solar well when cars charge during the day, and a demand charge that doesn't. This page goes deeper than our retail guide on dealerships.
| Quick facts | Solar for a dealership |
|---|---|
| Share of solar used on site | often 80–90% |
| Loads that suit solar | showroom lighting and air conditioning, workshop plant, wash bay, daytime EV charging |
| What solar won't fix | the demand charge from DC fast chargers, and evening showroom hours |
| Typical system | 30kW to 100kW, set by the roof and the switchboard |
| What to send | one recent bill; we get the interval data from it |
Where a dealership's power goes
- Showroom. Large glazed spaces with display lighting and air conditioning running from before opening to after close, seven days a week. The biggest and steadiest daytime load on the site.
- Workshop. Air compressors, hoists, tyre and wheel machines, extraction fans, lighting. Monday to Saturday, concentrated between 7am and 5pm.
- Wash bay and detailing. Pressure washers, dryers, vacuums. Daytime, often busiest late morning.
- EV charging. Demonstrators and stock charging through the day on AC chargers, plus DC fast chargers for customer and pre-delivery charging. Growing every year as the range electrifies.
- Evening and overnight. Security lighting, signage, servers, a few chargers. Small next to the day.
That shape is close to ideal for solar: a high, steady load across every daylight hour, with weekends included because the showroom trades.
EV chargers: the new line on the bill
Two things happen when a dealership adds chargers.
- Daytime AC charging is a good solar load. Demonstrators and stock on 7kW or 22kW chargers through the day soak up midday solar that might otherwise export. Scheduling stock charging for the middle of the day is the cheapest way to lift self-use.
- DC fast chargers add a demand charge. A 50kW or 150kW fast charger drawing for twenty minutes can set the site's peak demand for the month, and that peak is billed as a demand charge whatever the solar makes. Solar reduces the energy part of the bill, not the demand part, unless the panels happen to be at full output at the moment of the peak. A battery or a charger that throttles to a demand limit is the usual answer, and it has to be tested against the demand charge on the bill, not just the kWh. See demand charges explained and commercial solar batteries.
Manufacturer requirements for charger numbers and speeds vary by brand and are changing; the proposal should take the planned chargers into account, not just the ones already installed.
How much will solar save a dealership?
Here is a worked example with made-up figures. These are example figures, not our prices or a real site. The 100kW price, output and rates are the ones used on our commercial solar cost page, so the pages can be checked against each other. The 30kW price sits in the middle of the cost page's $21,000 to $29,000 range after STCs.
A large multi-franchise site in Brisbane, 100kW. About 145,000 kWh a year at an example price of $73,000 after the STC discount. Seven-day trading and a six-day workshop use about 85% of the solar.
- 123,250 kWh × $0.28 = $34,510, plus 21,750 kWh × $0.05 = $1,088. Yearly saving $35,598.
- At $73,000, that pays back in about 2.1 years.
A single-franchise dealership, 30kW. About 43,500 kWh a year at an example price of $25,000 after STCs. A smaller roof and a smaller load, used about 90% of the time.
- 39,150 kWh × $0.28 = $10,962, plus 4,350 kWh × $0.05 = $218. Yearly saving $11,180.
- At $25,000, that pays back in about 2.2 years.
Both sit at the fast end for commercial solar, because so little exports. The demand charge is the figure to watch: if fast chargers have pushed it up, the proposal should show the energy saving and the demand charge separately, and not claim that solar cuts the second.
Leased sites and dealer groups
Most dealerships lease their premises, and many belong to a group with several sites. That changes three things.
- Who owns the system. The landlord may install and recover it through the lease, or the dealer may install with the landlord's consent and agree what happens at lease end. Settle this before quoting, because it decides who claims the STC discount and the depreciation.
- Roof and brand standards. Showroom roofs are often shallow, with parapets and plant; the workshop roof is usually the better site. Some brands have standards for the visible appearance of the building; check that panels on the showroom roof are allowed.
- Group sites. Each site is its own meter and its own sums. A group can tender the lot and compare, but a quote that averages across sites hides which ones pay.
Our guide on solar for leased buildings covers the landlord and tenant split in detail. The state incentive table is on the retail guide; the short version is that Victoria's Victorian Energy Upgrades discounts business systems from 30kW to 200kW, NSW discounts batteries through the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, and the other states add nothing to the federal STC discount.
What should a dealership send for a proposal?
Just one recent bill, every page. Using the NMI on it, the team gets the site's interval data, which shows the showroom and workshop load hour by hour, the weekends, and any charger peaks. You don't need to request anything.
Mention these in the form if you know them: the chargers you have and the ones planned, your trading hours, whether you lease or own, and which roof is likely to carry the panels.
What to ask your installer
- What self-use share does the proposal assume, and is it from our interval data, including weekends?
- Have you shown the energy saving and the demand charge separately?
- Have you allowed for the chargers we're planning, not just the ones installed?
- Which roof carries the panels, and has anyone checked the showroom roof's structure and the brand's rules?
- If we lease: who owns the system, who claims the STC discount, and what happens at lease end?
Already have a quote for your dealership? Compare it line by line with our checklist and we'll check these points for free. Otherwise send a bill and an accredited installer prepares a costed proposal sized to how the site trades. Free, no obligation.