JCT600 saw pre-tax profits decline 16.3% to £36.03m on turnover down 2.5% to £1.41bn in 2023.
In accounts filed at Companies House it said that the move by Mercedes-Benz to an agency model had reduced turnover by £64m.
As part of a strategic re-organisation of the company, it gave up the Vauxhall and Peugeot franchises in Castleford and Menston.
“The 2023 economic environment was challenging with high inflation, high interest rates and a tight labour market.
“However, despite this drag on the UK economy, JCT600 after adjusting for agency sales to a like-for-like basis, delivered record sales of £1.41bn (2022: £1.38bn).”
During 2023, the group invested £4.8m in a freehold Audi site in Doncaster and £3.3m in a multi franchise vehicle preparation and accident repair centre in York.
New vehicle turnover, adjusted for agency sales, rose by 13%. Used vehicle turnover decreased by -8.1% and used gross margins fell by 16.7%.
“During 2023 the UK used car market weakened. A number of factors contributed to this. An increase in availability of new cars affected used car demand, consequently weakening prices.
“Tesla reduced the prices of their new product, this combined with weak retail demand for expensive batter electric vehicles (BEVs) product had a knock-on effect to used electric vehicle prices.
“Retail customers are still not convinced to pay the premium price for a BEV, when there is still uncertainty surrounding range and charging facilities.”
JCT600 said that aftersales had grown by 7.3% but higher technician wages had impacted margin which reduced by 0.6%.