AutoCanada Inc. Announces Renewed Credit Facility with HSBC Bank Canada

EDMONTON, Sept. 18, 2012 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or "the Company") (TSX: ACQ) announced today that it has signed a renewal of its credit facility ("the Facility") with HSBC Bank Canada ("HSBC") whereby HSBC increased the availability of the existing Revolving Term Loan ("the Revolver") from $30 million to $40 million, with an option to increase the Revolver to $50 million subject to credit approval of HSBC.   In addition to the Revolver, the Facility makes available to the Company a $5 million revolving lease line which may be used to finance capital expenditures associated with dealership acquisitions, relocations and open points.  The facility is repayable on June 30, 2014 and may be extended for an additional 365 days at the request of the Company and upon approval by HSBC.  Interest on the facility remains unchanged at HSBC Prime Rate plus 0.75% per annum.

Pat Priestner, CEO of AutoCanada Inc. stated, "We are very pleased to have renewed our credit facility with HSBC Bank Canada.  The increase in our revolver to $40 million with an option to increase to $50 million will allow us greater flexibility in meeting our capital needs thereby providing greater value for our shareholders.  We are appreciative of HSBC's continued commitment to our business, and very much look forward to our continued partnership with this great institution."

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada is one of Canada's largest multi-location automobile dealership groups, currently operating 26 franchised dealerships in six provinces and has over 1,100 employees.  AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Volkswagen branded vehicles.  In 2011, our dealerships sold approximately 28,000 vehicles and processed approximately 300,000 service and collision repair orders in our 333 service bays during that time.

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

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information (collectively "forward-looking statements"), within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation.  We hereby provide cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements.  Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "will continue", "is anticipated", "projection", "vision", "goals", "objective", "target", "schedules", "outlook", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "could", "should", "expect", "plan", "seek", "may", "intend", "likely", "will", "believe" and similar expressions are not historical facts and are forward-looking and may involve estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict.  Accordingly, these factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.  Therefore, any such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed throughout this document.

The Company's Annual Information Form and other documents filed with securities regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website www.sedar.com describe the risks, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and which are incorporated herein by reference.

Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.  New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE: AutoCanada Inc.

Jeff Christie, CA
Vice-President, Finance

Phone:  [phone]

Email: [email protected]