Ford is to support the development of an "environmentally friendly" car dealership in Sweden, believed to be the first such project in the world and a model for potential global application.

Construction work on the "GreenZone" - a series of environmentally designed buildings for the dealership and related auto retail and servicing park - has already begun. It is due for completion by Spring next year. The development in the northern city of Ume�, when complete, will also include a restaurant, fuel station and cash-point. Project design includes the use of state-of-the-art recycling techniques, that make the building and facilities unique in the world.

Ford has joined forces in the GreenZone project with Ecosystem Scandinavia AB, the Norwegian state oil company Statoil and McDonalds (of course). There is no report yet of an Irish Pub..... Ford of Europe Vice President, Sales Operations, Ingvar Sviggum said:

"This environmentally friendly dealership emphasizes Ford's wide-ranging approach to environmental matters - from our plants to our products and through to our dealers. It also shows our willingness to embrace new technologies as part of our aim to become a leader in environmental issues."

In addition to the desire to realise a project of this nature, a main driving force for the project partners is to gather experience for future environmental work. Globally this includes approximately 50,000 outlets across the four companies.

"We are bringing together existing cutting-edge technology in a thoroughly new way," says Ford Dealer, Per Carstedt of Ecosystem Scandinavia AB. "The goal is to set an example by showing that we can reduce pressure on the environment today. This can be achieved using existing recycling techniques in the building sector without restricting normal activity."