
Canadian auto dealership chain on the hunt to buy competitors, dumps U.S. laggards
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AutoCanada Inc., which already owns 64 dealerships in eight provinces, says it has ambitions to dramatically expand its reach in Canada, with plans to leave the U.S. completely. It's putting Canadian dealerships on notice that it aims to be a top consolidator in the industry.
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'As long as everything holds like this, there's no reason why this company couldn't be double the size or greater in the next three to five years,' said Paul Antony, the chair of AutoCanada's board.
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The company, based in Edmonton, is selling 13 dealerships in the U.S. to undisclosed buyers for $82.7 million, leaving four other American lots to offload before its strategy to exit the country is finished.
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AutoCanada took its first shot at the U.S. market in 2018, when it bought eight dealerships and an auto mall in and around Chicago for $110 million, but Antony said the deal was a mistake.
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'The reason I was brought in to AutoCanada was this deal actually nearly bankrupt the company because they were under-performing assets,' he said.
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'We were forced to try and put somebody in to fix it. And we've gone through several leaders in the United States. What was clear to me is that our time is better spent in Canada for now.'
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Antony says U.S tariffs and Canadian counter-tariffs on autos did not factor into the company's decision to sell. He says it was mainly focused on finding the right price and buyer to take on its American dealerships.
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As the company shifts its focus north of the border, Antony says sales are steady at the Canadian dealerships.
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Analysts had predicted that tariffs would spike the price tag of new vehicles, turning customers away. But that hasn't been the case so far.
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Canadian auto sales were up by 5.5 per cent in the first six months of the year, compared to the same stretch of 2024, according to a Scotiabank report. Still, sales have slowed meaningfully since a spike earlier in the year when car buyers were likely trying to get ahead of tariffs, the report said.
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