EDMONTON, June 20, 2018 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ) today announced the retirement of Gordon Barefoot from the Board of Directors, effective August 9, 2018 (concurrent with the next regularly scheduled Board meeting). The Company also announced the retirement of Michael Ross from the Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Mr. Barefoot was Chair of the Board and served as an AutoCanada director for the last 12 years. He has recently been appointed to an executive role at a leading North American utility company and is no longer able to dedicate the requisite time to AutoCanada to fulfill his role as a Director. Paul Antony has been appointed as Board Chair and will begin transitioning into that role immediately. Mr. Antony is the President and CEO of MAP Investco and the founder, former CEO and Chair of CARPROOF Corporation.  He will also serve as the Chair of the recently formed special committee tasked with completing a strategic review.

Mr. Ross is retiring from the Board of Directors and his role as Chair of the Governance and Compensation Committee after 11 years.  Mr. Ross had tendered his resignation for personal reasons prior to the recent shareholder news release but was asked to stay on and help establish a special committee.

"Gordon and Michael have been instrumental in providing guidance and oversight focused on the growth and development of AutoCanada from the early days until now as Canada's premier publicly traded auto retailing group.  Their significant contributions to this organization cannot be overstated and they will be missed," said Paul Antony, Board Chair.

AutoCanada does not intend to appoint new Directors to fill the vacancies created from the retirement of Mr. Barefoot or Mr. Ross. The Company will announce a new Chair of the Governance and Compensation Committee in the future.

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada, a leading North American multi-location automobile dealership group currently operating 68 franchised dealerships, comprised of 27 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA and has over 4,200 employees. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Smart, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln and Honda branded vehicles. In 2017, our dealerships sold approximately 63,000 vehicles and processed approximately 870,000 service and collision repair orders in our 999 service bays generating revenue in excess of C$3 billion.

Additional Information

Additional information about AutoCanada Inc. is available at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.autocan.ca.

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.