EDMONTON, AB, Aug. 10, 2021 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc.
("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North
American automobile dealership group, announced that it has
acquired Mark Wilson's Better Used
Cars ("Wilson's"), an independent used vehicle dealership in
Guelph, Ontario. Along with
AutoCanada's previous acquisition of Haldimand Motors, this
acquisition advances AutoCanada's strategic objective of developing
a Used Digital Retail Division in the Canadian pre-owned vehicle
market.
Operating for over 60 years serving Guelph and surrounding areas, Wilson's is one
of Canada's premier used vehicle
dealerships, with facilities of 43,000 square feet on 16 acres, 24
shop bays and a full-service department. Wilson's is a
consistent winner of Guelph's
Favourite Dealer Award over the years and has been recognized with
numerous other dealership and service awards. Mark Wilson and his team will continue to
operate the business going forward.
"The addition of Mark Wilson's
expansive used vehicle operations further expands on our Used
Digital Retail Initiative – a strategy to address the substantial
opportunity in the Canadian market with the dedicated sale of used
vehicles across all channels, including completely online. This
marks our second non-franchise dealership operation following the
acquisition Haldimand Motors in Q4 2020. As one of the best
used vehicle dealer operators in the country, adding Wilson's to
AutoCanada further improves the Company's bench strength and talent
pool and allows us to assess best in class practices as we continue
to build our Used Digital Retail platform," said Executive
Chairman, Paul Antony. "This
acquisition also aligns with our strategy of geographic
diversification as it expands our network of used dealerships and
furthers our exposure into the Ontario market."
"We continue to see the Used Digital Retail opportunity
providing us not only with a Canadian first mover advantage in the
category and a wealth of domain expertise, but the ability to build
a Used Digital Retail operation with attractive unit economics that
should allow us to scale rapidly without meaningful cash burn – a
notable difference from some of the U.S. Digital Retail players,"
continued Mr. Antony. "Our Used Digital Retail Initiative sets the
foundation to serve all customers for all transaction types as
mobility ownership and transportation evolves, and we expect this
initiative to be a key driver for the future of AutoCanada
leadership."
About AutoCanada
AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile
dealership group currently operating 66 franchised dealerships,
comprised of 27 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC,
Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti,
Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda,
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Honda and Porsche branded vehicles.
Additionally, the Company's Canadian operations segment currently
operates one used vehicle dealership supporting the Used Digital
Retail Division, and two stand-alone collision centres (within our
group of 17 collision centres). In 2020, our dealerships sold
approximately 66,000 vehicles and processed over 756,000 service
and collision repair orders in our 1,098 service bays generating
revenue in excess of $3 billion.
Additional information about AutoCanada Inc. is available at
www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.autocan.ca.
Certain statements contained in this press release are
forward-looking statements and information (collectively,
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable
Canadian securities legislation. We hereby provide cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those projected in these
forward-looking statements. Any statements that express, or involve
discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result",
"are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection",
"vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook",
"anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "plan",
"seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and similar
expressions) are not historical facts and are forward looking. In
particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements
with respect to, among other things, future operating results of
the acquired business, the successful integration of such business
into AutoCanada's business, the development of the Company's Used
Digital Retail Division and future operating results of the
Company's Used Digital Retail Division.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release
are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly
relied upon. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements
are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that,
by their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated and described
in the forward-looking statements. These known and unknown risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating
results, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations,
financial condition and liquidity and the duration of such impacts;
potential changes in the regulatory and legislative environment;
volatility in interest and tax rates; operating risks inherent in
the automotive retail industry; and changes in general economic
conditions including the capital and credit markets.
Forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of
which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Accordingly,
actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, in
presenting its forward-looking statements, AutoCanada has made
assumptions respecting, among other things the future
operating results of the acquired business, the successful
integration of such business into AutoCanada's business, the
development of the Company's Used Digital Retail Initiative and the
future operating results of the Company's Used Digital Retail
Division.
AutoCanada cautions that the foregoing list of assumptions,
risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. The Company's Annual
Information Form and other documents filed with securities
regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com) describe the risks, material assumptions and other
factors that could influence actual results and which are
incorporated herein by reference. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof
and AutoCanada assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise
them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be
required pursuant to applicable securities laws.
SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.