Automotive News Canada - January 2023 - 14

14
* JANUARY 2023
Retail pay: $131,200 average
29% make
>$150,000
First annual survey
finds that working at
a dealership can be
incredibly lucrative
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
CANADIAN AUTOMOBILE
dealerships, by most any measure,
are lucrative places to work.
The results of the 2023
Automotive News Canada Retail
Salary Survey show that compensation
at all dealership levels handily
exceeds the overall average for
Canadian workers, with pay in
many positions outstripping earnings
in the wider economy by two
or even three times. The survey is
based on 655 responses from staff,
including managers and dealer
principals, at dealerships of all sizes
throughout Canada.
Across all automotive brands,
experience levels and job titles, the
average 2022 pretax compensation
for Canadian dealership employees
was $131,200. The tally includes all
forms of pay, including salary, commissions
and bonuses.
That figure is more than double
the gross pay earned by most
Canadians.
Economywide weekly figures
compiled by Statistics Canada show
that through September - the latest
data available - employed
Canadians earned about $1,150 per
week, including overtime. That's
tracking toward a 2022 yearly
income of about $60,500. In 2021,
average income
for employed
Canadians
totaled nearly
$59,000, according
to annualized
weekly
earnings data
59% make
<$125,000
from Statistics Canada.
The potential for high compensation
is one of the factors that allows
auto retailers to attract talent, said
Jordan Rees, CEO of the Kitchener,
Ont.-based automotive recruitment
company Auto Careers Group Inc.
" Anybody can come into the
automotive industry and make that
kind of money, " Rees said. " That's
a really positive aspect for the auto
industry in attracting good people. "
He cautioned that not everyone
working in the industry can expect
to make the average, but high performers
are able to climb up the
retail ranks regardless of their educational
backgrounds or work history.
" There
aren't a lot of hurdles to
jump into the automotive industry, "
Rees said. " On the sales side,
depending on the province, we have
some licensing requirements, but
they're minimal. There's no education
to go through. You can come
right out of high school and start
selling cars and still make it to that
general manager level. "
ALL DO WELL, SOME DO BETTER
Of the 655 survey respondents,
29 per cent reported earning more
than $150,000 in pretax income in
2022; 12 per cent of respondents
grossed close to the overall average,
earning between $125,000 and
$149,999. The majority, however,
earned less, with 59 per cent of
respondents reporting less than
$125,000 in total compensation in
2022.
A range of factors influence earnings
at dealerships - including the
automotive brand on the banner
(see rankings on page 18). The survey
results show relatively consistent
pay across most brands, but
several standouts can be found at
both the high and low ends of the
spectrum.
Anybody can
come into the
automotive
industry and make
that kind of
money. That's a
really positive
aspect for the auto
industry in
attracting good
people. "
Jordan Rees
CEO, Auto Careers Group Inc.
The dealership department also
signals earnings potential.
Survey respondents who identified
themselves as managers earned
an average of $161,900 in total compensation
in 2022, compared with
an average of $85,200 earned by
those identifying themselves as
employees.
Earnings differences
between departments also exist.
Compensation for managers in service
departments, for instance, falls
short of compensation for leadership
roles in other parts of dealership
operations.
Geography and scale also matter,
with dealerships in larger markets
that sell more vehicles and employ
more people typically paying better
than smaller operations.
A higher cost of living in large
urban centres, however, provides a
check on this higher compensation,
Rees said.
" If we look at someone who is
out east who is slightly lower in
the pay scale, their cost of living is
lower [than someone in Ontario], "
Salary x Population
Salary breakdown
Respondents were asked to choose one of the following brackets
Up to $30,000
$30,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $74,999
$75,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $124,999
$125,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $199,999
$200,000 to $224,999
$225,000 to $249,999
$250,000 to $299,999
More than $300,000
1%
9%
Below average
59%
18%
17%
15%
12%
10%
4%
3%
4%
7%
Salary breakdown by job title
Including commissions and bonuses, before taxes
and deductions (in thousands of dollars)
Salary By Job Title
Average salary
versus 2021vs. 2021
Average ofTOTAL
all respondents
Area manager
Exec Admin
Ar a Manager
Executive administrator
President/dealer principal
General manager
Product adviser
Pres/ Dealer Principal
General Manager
Product Advisor
New Car Manager
New-vehicle manager
Used-vehicle manager
General sales manager
Pre-Owned Manager
General Sales Manager
Fixed Operations Manager
Service Manager
Service Advisor
Technician
Fixed operations manager
Service manager
Service adviser
Technician
$131.2
$123.8
$124.4
$218.6
$239.3
$91.3
$154.7
$148.6
$161.4
$142.3
$89.0
$66.7
$75.7
he said. For this reason, Rees said, he rarely sees
candidates move between different parts of the
country solely to secure greater compensation.
The survey results also show a significant gender
divide in compensation. Male staff earned an
average of $138,300 in 2022, compared to an aver+$6.5
+$6.9
-$6.1
+$17.9
+$13.7
-$1.0
+$9.2
+$2.3
+$8.3
+$15.5
+$3.4
+$3.3
+$1.8
erage
Salary
Average per cent
commission 2022
Average %
Commission 2022
26.8%
8.4%
8.1%
18.9%
39.0%
48.2%
54.7%
44.9%
40.6%
22.4%
22.5%
29.7%
4.7%
# hours worked
2022
Weekly hours
2022
50
45
44
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
48
44
age of $102,400 reported by female respondents.
Of note, 31 per cent of female respondents were
in administrative roles compared with men at
four per cent. Additionally, only four per cent of
women identified as dealer executives versus 18
per cent of men. - ANC
1
Above average
29%
Average bracket
12%
(Statistical
average:
$131,200)
2023 RETAIL SALARY SURVEY
$161,900
manager average
$85,200
employee average
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
The study was
conducted in the
fall of 2022 by
Research+Knowledge
=Insight, an independent
research
company based in
Toronto. It calculated
the responses of 655
dealership employees
on the audience lists
of Automotive News
Canada and survey
sponsor Auto Careers
Group. The margin of
error is plus or minus
Automotive News Canada - January 2023

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