“Dealership profitability retreats in Q1 2026 against tough year-ago new-vehicle sales comp“
The latest Presidio-NCM Average Dealership Performance Benchmark shows U.S. franchised dealerships with first-quarter 2026 profit declines as the industry laps 2025’s unusually strong start when consumers rushed to buy vehicles ahead of expected U.S. tariff hikes. Vehicle margins fell across all brand segments, reflecting payback from that surge. Higher margin business lines — F&I and fixed operations — again helped soften the earnings impact.
- Net pretax profit for the average franchised dealership fell 11.2% year over year in the first quarter of 2026
- Per-vehicle gross profit declined 11.2% to $1,781 for new units and 11.2% to $1,253 for used units
- Finance-and-insurance income per vehicle retailed increased 7.1% to $1,727
- Fixed-ops gross profit growth slowed to 1.4%, but the business generated 53.8% of total dealership gross profit, its highest ever in the Presidio NCM data set