The Number

New vehicles sold by Galpin Ford in 2015 Galpin Ford ranked as the best-selling Ford dealer in the world for 2015. The North Hills dealership, which has held the No. 1 crown for 26 consecutive years, sold 8,616 new vehicles last year, or about 24 vehicles every day. Counting both new and used cars, the franchise sold 30,986 vehicles last year, a record for the dealership. That number came during a record-setting year for the auto sector in general. According to Automotive News, U.S. new-car sales reached nearly 17.5 million last year, beating the previous record in 2000 at 17.4 million. Beau Boeckmann, president at North Hills parent company Galpin Motors, said a combination of “rational credit” and a solid lineup of Ford models drove sales. “For any type of car guy, this is a golden age,” he told the Business Journal. “The best automobiles in history are being built today.” Boeckmann cited four models that powered Ford sales last year: The Fusion rode a wave of popularity for the midsize car segment, Mustang delivered for the sports car crowd, the all-aluminum F-Series pickup sold well even though Los Angeles is not really truck country and the Explorer appealed to SUV buyers. In the competition to be the No. 1 Ford dealer, Boeckmann said his closest competitor was Suburban Ford in Sterling Heights, Mich., outside of Detroit, which sells to a lot of Ford Motor Co. employees. After that came Five Star Ford in Carrollton, Texas. Rankings are based on the number of cars sold, not revenue. Looking ahead, Boeckmann sees another great year of sales, with the Shelby GT 350 Mustang and the mini-sports car Focus RS hitting showrooms. Also, the Ford GT is scheduled to compete at the Le Mans raceway in France before the end of the year. “There’s a lot of performance product coming,” he said. – Joel Russell