Automotive News Canada - December 2023 - S20

FROM THE
MARCH
EDITION
20
FROM THE
Used cars are driving AutoCanada sales
APRIL
EDITION
The dealership
group is selling
1.72 used vehicles
for every new
vehicle, with
sales 'off the
charts for the
next three to four
years,' executive
chairman said
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
AUTOCANADA INC. ISN'T
getting out of the new-vehicle
business, but the dealership
group is leaning on the used
side of its operation to grow
sales and hedge against ongoing
turbulence in the new-car
market.
The publicly traded company,
which has 65 franchised
stores in Canada
and 18 in the United States,
is " beholden " to the automakers
it represents for
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
the full story. BMW Laval has been
named BMW Group Canada's first-ever
winner in the sustainability category.
The car company's retail network
in Canada consists of 50 BMW and 31
Mini dealerships.
The award was one of 16 presented
to BMW and Mini dealerships March
6 during BMW Group Canada's 2022
Retailer of the Year awards.
" BMW is highly engaged in the
green economy, " D'Argenio said.
GREEN 'AT THE CORE'
The dealership, founded in 1973
by Massimo's grandfather, Gerardo
D'Argenio, has been majority-owned
by Edmonton-based AutoCanada Inc.
since 2014. Massimo D'Argenio said it
is still run like a family business and
retains its long-standing environmental
focus.
EDITION
FROM THE
MAY
new-vehicle inventory, said
AutoCanada Executive
EDITION
FROM THE
EDITION
FROM THE
JUNE
JULY
Chairman Paul
Antony. But the
" unconstrained
nature " of the
used-vehicle
segment gives
the company a
" wide-open runway " to grow.
" We want to become
untethered to the constraints
that we have on the new-car
business and [with] selling
just new cars, " Antony said
on the company's latest quarterly
earnings call May 4.
Used-vehicle sales growth
has been a key aim for
Antony and the management
team of the Edmontonbased
dealership group since
he took over leadership of
AutoCanada nearly five
years ago, and the company
has made considerable headway.
In 2018, AutoCanada
sold 0.62 used vehicles for
every new vehicle driven off
the lot. For the first quarter
of 2023, that ratio had
climbed to 1.72.
Antony expects
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FROM THE
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Wilson's Better Used Cars in Guelph, Ont., is one of
AutoCanada's dealerships that sells only used vehicles.
" We're short roughly nine to 10 million cars that weren't
built for North America in the last three to four years, "
said AutoCanada Executive Chairman Paul Antony, " which
means that we're short nine to 10 million used cars that
haven't been built. " PHOTO: FACEBOOK
AutoCanada's used volume
and the wider used market
to continue to strengthen
as new-vehicle inventories
remain " constrained for most
brands. "
" Used is going to be off the
charts for the next three to
four years, " he said, pointing
to restricted vehicle producThe
dealership's green values align
with those of BMW, said Andrew Scott,
director of national sales at BMW
Group Canada.
" We do more than build electric
vehicles; we source the materials, produce
the vehicles and recycle them
with sustainability at the core of each
process.
" We developed an award that focuses
on sustainability because the topic
is at the foundation of our business on
a global level and is important for us to
reinforce locally, " he said.
To evaluate sustainability nominees,
BMW assessed physical practices
and initiatives undertaken by a dealership
and looked for " an engaged workforce
and a culture and environment
that promoted the creation of a wider
green economy. " About 20 per cent of
Canada's BMW and Mini dealerships
entered the sustainability competition.
The honour recognizes a long list
tion related to the pandemic
and the microchip shortage.
" We're short roughly
nine to 10 million cars
that weren't built for North
America in the last three to
four years, which means that
we're short nine to 10 million
used cars that haven't been
built. "
of " little things " that touch on virtually
every aspect of a dealership's operation.
Physical upgrades at the Laval
store included converting to LED lighting
in the showroom, along with adding
high-speed overhead doors in the
service drive-through and workshop
areas in 2018-19.
The dealership stated in its submission
for the award that natural gas
consumption for the year 2021 was half
the amount consumed in 2018.
OTHER PRACTICES
* The addition of a smartbuilding
control system enabled the
BMW and Mini stores to better manage
heating and cooling systems, thereby
reducing carbon dioxide emissions
and improving comfort.
* The dealership has installed 16
electric-vehicle chargers, including
three Level 3 DC fast chargers. Since
the first charger was installed in 2017,
BEST PRACTICES 2023
Automotive News Canada - December 2023

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