Optimising the car dealership network in Estonia: Strategic insights for automotive brands
Client
Renault & Dacia
Client overview:
Civitta collaborated with automotive brands Renault and Dacia, together with their local dealerships to address recent challenges in the car market. Over the past five years, vehicle sales in Estonia have steadily declined, driven by factors such as COVID-19, the global semiconductor shortage, and broader economic pressures. The sharpest drop came in early 2025 after the introduction of the car tax.
At the same time, customer behaviour is shifting: different segments value different aspects of the sales process and dealer network. For some, the physical showroom remains essential, while others focus mainly on convenient after-sales services. Maintaining showrooms is costly for dealerships, so optimising the network is key to reducing expenses while preserving a strong market presence.
The challenge:
The core objective of our engagement was to support the client in navigating a challenging market environment and managing its car dealership network.
Our goal was to identify the optimal sales network structure in Estonia and deliver future-oriented strategic recommendations.
Our approach:
The approach was divided into three main stages:
- The first stage analysed the current market situation and competitors.
- The second stage reviewed market trends and development scenarios, with a particular focus on their impact on key customer segments and the client’s potential market share.
- The third stage was a deep dive into network-related indicators to assess the strategic positioning of dealerships and develop recommendations for the network. Evaluation criteria included: population density and dynamics, traffic intensity and commuting patterns, presence of competitors, and procurement requirements. In larger urban areas, additional factors such as employment hubs and leisure centres were also taken into account.
Services provided:
- Business and corporate strategy
- Market research
- Customer analysis
- Competitive landscape analysis
- Network analysis and optimisation
Results & Impact
As a result, we delivered a comprehensive set of strategic recommendations to help the client unlock the full market potential and tackle recent challenges in the car sales sector.
These included: customer strategy insights, as well as guidance on showroom positioning and the optimal structure of the sales network in Estonia.
Key Takeaways:
Lessons learned
Looking at market growth alone gives only part of the picture. Network strategies also need to address efficiency and productivity, especially in markets under pressure from structural change. Per capita indicators can uncover inefficiencies such as over-dimensioned networks, showing where coverage may exceed real customer needs. A dual focus on market development and efficiency creates more resilient strategies, ensuring both growth potential and long-term cost-effectiveness.
How Civitta’s expertise made a difference
Together with the client, we introduced an efficiency perspective into a market study that would traditionally focus more on demand and trends. This shifted the analysis from simply identifying new opportunities to optimising existing resources. Applied structured evaluation criteria ensuring that recommendations were both data-driven and grounded in customer behaviour.
Applicability to other clients/industries
The approach is highly relevant across the Baltics and Europe, where companies often focus on growth but overlook productivity as a strategic lever. Retail, FMCG, and banking face similar challenges: physical networks remain important, but they are costly and risk becoming oversized relative to demand. Also, any organization with a network of customer touchpoints can benefit from combining market development analysis with efficiency-focused evaluation, to optimise footprint and improve per capita performance.
