“Q3 dealership profit falls against 2025’s EV tax-credit boost as vehicle margins shrink and costs rise:
Average dealership profitability remained under pressure in the third quarter of 2026 as revenue increased but unit sales and per-vehicle margins declined while operating expenses rose, according to the latest Presidio-NCM
Average Dealership Performance Benchmark. New-vehicle volume fell against a tough comparison to last year’s third quarter when consumers rushed to purchase electric vehicles before federal tax credits expired. Gains in finance-and-insurance and fixed operations continued to provide support, but not enough to prevent another year-over-year decline in net pretax profit as higher operating costs weighed on dealership profitability.
- New-vehicle volume dropped 1.8% year over year, while used-vehicle volume declined 0.7%.
- Gross profit per new vehicle retailed fell 10.5% year over year to $1,741.
- Gross profit per used vehicle declined 4.5% year over year to $1,286.
- F&I income per vehicle retailed increased 3.5% year over year to $1,738.
- Fixed-operations gross profit increased 5.0% year over year, generating 54.2% of total dealership gross profit.