Lighting is an essential and important part of the automotive shopping experience, but also one of its greatest expenses, accounting for more than 45% of a dealership’s energy costs. Hubbell Lighting today announced a new solution to slash those costs, enhance the quality of light and reduce the financial risk of upgrades–resulting in up to a four percent increase in earnings before taxes at a typical dealership.
 
The initiative, called createchange® consists of two innovative offerings from Hubbell Lighting: 
 
•       First is a suite of proprietary audit tools and other resources, implemented shoulder-to-shoulder with Hubbell Lighting consultants. These allow dealers to precisely forecast the economic impact of various lighting retrofit strategies. 
 
•      Second is the solution called “Compare in the Air,” where Hubbell encourages customers to validate those cost saving estimates on site at their showrooms, selecting and installing up to four Hubbell Lighting products, and monitoring the results for 90 days. After that trial, customers can decide to keep the products or return them for a full refund.
 
“In auto dealerships lighting is the easiest and least costly energy consumer to upgrade,” said Scott Muse, President of Hubbell Lighting. “Our createchange® program offers dealers as close to a guaranteed savings as exists. First, we become teammates in forecasting how new and efficient lighting technologies can both improve the quality of illumination throughout a dealer’s facility, as well as dramatically cut costs. Then we work with the dealership to test those projections by installing samples of that technology, monitoring the results over the course of three-months and validating the forecasts. If customers are disappointed, we’ll take back the lighting for a full refund.” 
 
The createchange® program includes a comprehensive evaluation of the dealer’s facilities, including vehicle inventory, customer parking, service areas, offices and signage. New lighting and control devices can dramatically reduce energy and maintenance costs.  In a recent dealership installation, 1,000 watt HID fixtures were replaced with Hubbell Lightings Spaulding Cimarron LED fixtures. The result: each fixture saved the dealer $326 per year in energy cost—comparable to the margin on the sale of a $14,000 automobile.
 
“The createchange® program for dealerships is even more powerful when coupled with our Cash Flow Positive program,” said Mr. Muse. “With a simple approval process, we will fund your entire lighting and controls upgrade; including all products, installation and project-related materials and services. Even better, we will structure the financing to ensure that energy cost savings are greater than monthly financing costs, which means most dealerships will experience an immediate positive cash flow.”
 
Plus, with Hubbell Lighting’s Cash Flow Positive program dealers get no down payment, 100% fixed rate, usually approved in 24-48 hours and long-term financing that does not require annual qualifying and hinder the company’s ability to borrow in the future.
 
“We are in a situation today where the economic advantages of new lighting technologies are a given,” added Muse. “We now need to spur adoption. That is why createchange® is so important.”