Company: GPI
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001031203-25-000013
Chunk: 62

Company: GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 62
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 orders. 

Inflation, increased energy costs and a prolonged recession could adversely impact our operations, the operations of our suppliers and customer demand for our vehicles and services. The risk of slower future interest rate cuts or the maintenance of interest rates at current elevated levels could have a material adverse impact on our interest expense and ability to obtain financing through the debt markets, as well as consumers’ ability to obtain financing for the purchase of new and used vehicles. Refer to Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk for additional analysis regarding our interest rate sensitivity.

A significant portion of our vehicles purchased by customers are financed. Tightening of the credit markets, increases in interest rates and credit conditions have and may continue to decrease the availability or increase the costs of automotive loans and leases and adversely impact our new and used vehicle sales and margins. In particular, if sub-prime finance companies apply further higher credit standards or if there is a further decline in the overall availability of credit in the sub-prime lending market, the ability of some consumers to purchase vehicles and F&I products could be even more limited, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In addition, local economic, competitive and other conditions affect the performance of our dealerships. Our results of operations depend substantially on general economic conditions and spending habits in those regions of the U.S. and U.K. where we maintain our operations.

While EV sales continued to increase in the U.S. in 2024, challenges with EV technologies, including the development of the necessary charging infrastructure, continue to make headlines within the U.S. media market, raising concerns around consumer demand and interest in the products. Should EV demand decline at the same time as more OEMs transition to EV models, this could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. In addition, President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders since taking office in January 2025, including an executive order eliminating the EV mandate. Refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Recent Events, for additional information regarding these executive orders. 

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The U.K. government has established mandated targets for the sale of new zero emissions vehicles with increasing targets in future years. The overall U.K. market fell short of those mandated targets in 2024, with consumer preferences skewed towards traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. The government targets established for 2025 are higher than those previously required in 2024, and are expected to further