In 2022, profits reached an estimated $6.5 million per location for dealerships owned by public auto retailers, more than triple of pre-pandemic levels, according to the report from Haig Partners, a buy-sell advisory firm to auto dealers.
But dealers still expect profits to remain over twice as high as 2019, powering demand for acquisitions in the drive to expand, the report said.
"The result of high profits and strong demand is that we have seen record-high prices being paid for dealerships in the last six months," Haig said.
To hit those targets, the three auto dealers would together need $48.7 billion in revenue and purchases of nearly 500 dealerships, the report said.
The Haig Report tracks trends in auto retail.