AutoCanada Inc. reported higher revenue but tighter margins for the first quarter of 2023 on May 3, as higher interest rates pushed buyers into lower-cost vehicles and sales sputtered across the company’s U.S. operations.
AutoCanada Executive Chairman Paul Antony said the results reflect how the operating environment has shifted from the “record industry profitability” experienced last year. Company gross profit on new and used vehicles declined in the first quarter, though this was largely offset, AutoCanada said, by gains in its F&I, parts and service, and collision repair businesses.
The dealership group has reported consistent growth in its ratio of used to new vehicles sold over the past three years. During the first quarter of 2023, it sold 1.74 used vehicles for each new car sold, compared to 0.88 in the final quarter of 2019, the last before the pandemic.