GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE INC

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 14, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Intangible Franchise Rights in Acquisitions and Impairment Assessments— Refer to Notes 1, 3 and 13 to the consolidated financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company acquired 67 dealerships. The acquisitions were accounted for as business combinations. Accordingly, the purchase price was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their respective fair values, including indefinite-lived intangible assets, related to rights under franchise agreements with manufacturers. The fair value of acquired intangible franchise rights is estimated using the income approach.

The Company’s annual impairment assessment for intangible franchise rights is performed in the fourth quarter, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate possible impairment. In evaluating intangible franchise rights for impairment, a qualitative assessment is initially performed to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that an impairment exists. If it is concluded that it is more-likely-than-not that an impairment exists, a quantitative assessment is performed. The fair value is estimated using a discounted cash flow model, or income approach. The Company’s impairment assessments performed in fiscal year 2024 resulted in an impairment of $28.2 million of intangible franchise rights.

We identified the fair value of acquired intangible franchise rights for the acquisitions, the qualitative impairment assessments for certain franchise rights, as well as the fair value estimates used in the quantitative impairment assessments of intangible franchise rights as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management makes related to forecasts of revenue growth rates, future EBITDA margins, weighted average cost of capital, and terminal growth rates. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve our fair value specialists for the quantitative impairment assessments and acquired intangible franchise rights, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s assumptions.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures for the acquisitions and the impairment assessments related to the forecasts of revenue growth rates, future EBITDA margins, weighted average cost of capital and terminal growth rates included the following, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of internal controls over the acquired intangible franchise rights and the intangible franchise rights impairment assessments, including those over the inputs, assumptions, and calculations used in determining fair value of the intangible franchise rights.

•We evaluated the reasonableness of management’s forecasts of revenue growth rates and future EBITDA margins by comparing the forecasts to:

◦The Company’s historical revenue and EBITDA margins.

◦Internal communications to management and the Board of Directors.

◦Current industry, market and economic trends.

•We performed a sensitivity analysis of certain assumptions such as revenue growth rates, future EBITDA margins, weighted average cost of capital, and terminal growth rates to evaluate the potential change in the fair value resulting from changes in underlying assumptions.

•With the assistance of our fair value specialists, for acquired intangible franchise rights and those intangible franchise rights where a quantitative impairment assessment was performed, we evaluated the reasonableness of the weighted average cost of capital and terminal growth rates by:

◦Developing a range of independent estimates and comparing those to the weighted average cost of capital selected by management.

◦Testing the source information underlying the determination of the terminal growth rates and testing the mathematical accuracy of the calculations.

Goodwill Impairment Assessment— Refer to Notes 1 and 13 to the consolidated financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

The Company’s annual impairment assessment for goodwill is performed in the fourth quarter, or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate possible impairment. The Company’s evaluation of goodwill for impairment involves the comparison of the fair value of each reporting unit to its carrying value. The fair value is estimated using the income approach and market approach, weighted equally. The goodwill balance for the U.K. reporting unit was $275.7 million as of December 31, 2024. The fair value of the U.K. reporting unit exceeded the carrying value as of the assessment date and, therefore, no impairment was recognized.

We identified the fair value estimates used in the U.K. reporting unit goodwill impairment assessment as a critical audit matter because of the significant estimates and assumptions management makes related to forecasts of revenue growth rates, future EBITDA margins, weighted average cost of capital, valuation multiples, and terminal growth rate. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve our fair value specialists, when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of management’s assumptions.

How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures for the impairment assessment related to the forecasts of revenue growth rates, future EBITDA margins, weighted average cost of capital, valuation multiples, and terminal growth rate included the following, among others:

•We tested the effectiveness of internal controls over the goodwill impairment assessment, including those over the inputs, assumptions, and calculations used in determining fair value of the reporting unit.

•We evaluated the reasonableness of management’s forecasts of revenue growth rates and future EBITDA margins by comparing the forecasts to:

◦The Company’s historical revenue and EBITDA margins.

◦Internal communications to management and the Board of Directors.

◦Current industry, market and economic trends.

•We performed a sensitivity analysis of certain assumptions such as revenue growth rates, future EBITDA margins, weighted average cost of capital, valuation multiples, and terminal growth rate to evaluate the potential change in the fair value resulting from changes in underlying assumptions.

•With the assistance of our fair value specialists, we evaluated the reasonableness of the weighted average cost of capital, valuation multiples, and terminal growth rate by:

◦Developing a range of independent estimates and comparing those to the weighted average cost of capital and valuation multiples selected by management.

◦Testing the source information underlying the determination of the terminal growth rate and testing the mathematical accuracy of the calculations.

/s/Deloitte & Touche LLP

Houston, Texas

February 14, 2025

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.