Doggett breaks ground on Ford dealership
Leslie Doggett, one of the nation’s largest dealers of heavy construction equipment, broke ground Thursday on a $24 million Ford dealership, aiming to become a top seller of the popular F-150 pickup in the Houston area.
The 62,000-square-foot Doggett Ford, rising on 8 acres next to Doggett’s John Deere location off Interstate 45, will be one of the most modern, state-of-the-art Ford dealerships in the country when it opens in October 2020, Doggett said.
“It’s going to be like going into Nordstrom’s versus a convenience store,” said Jason Mosley, Doggett Ford’s general manager. “Having a nice facility is a key factor to draw people in and keep them coming back.”
Doggett’s major investment in the Ford dealership comes as consumers are increasingly eschewing new car dealerships in favor of used car lots as prices rise, driven by ever-improving technology and safety features that have become standard in new models.
New vehicle sales in the Houston area fell 5 percent in July, compared with a year earlier, while used vehicle sales rose nearly 1.6 percent year over year. The average retail price for a new vehicle sold locally last month was $38,977, while the average price of a used vehicle sold by franchised
new car dealers was $25,285, according to InfoNation, a Sugar Land-based automotive data provider.
Automakers and dealers are sweetening financing deals to move inventory. Ford this year announced zero percent financing for 72 months on the F-150, the best-selling vehicle in the Houston area. Ford dealers sold 16,027 new F-150s locally in 2018.
Doggett, CEO of Doggett Industries, said he was undeterred by the sales slowdown, which comes amid growing signs of an economic slowdown nationally. Doggett acquired Lone Star Ford from North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive
“All of the businesses we’re in are cyclical, and we’ve been through a number of cycles. We’re ready for that.”
Leslie Doggett, CEO of Doggett Industries
for an undisclosed price last year after more than 25 years of selling heavy equipment such as John Deere bulldozers, LinkBelt cranes, Freightliner semi-trailer trucks and Toyota forklifts.
“All of the businesses we’re in are cyclical, and we’ve been through a number of cycles,” he said. “We’re ready for that.”
Despite the slowdown, Doggett Ford is the fastestgrowing Ford dealership in the Houston area, more than doubling sales from when Sonic owned Lone Star Ford, Doggett said. The dealership, which currently operates out of a temporary facility at 9115 North Freeway, sells about 150 new and 150 used vehicles each month, with trucks and SUVs representing about 80 percent of sales.
Popular vehicles include the F-150 and Super Duty diesel trucks, as well as the Mustang. The average price of a new pickup sold by the dealership is around $40,000, executives said.
Doggett and Mosley, his general manager, attributed the sales uptick to the dealership’s partnership with its sister organization selling heavy equipment. Those customers also purchase pickups to drive on construction sites.
Doggett Ford, which employs 85 workers, plans to double its workforce when the new facility opens.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who attended Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony, said he believes that the new dealership will fuel additional redevelopment on the city’s north side, where he grew up and resides today.
“The $24 million dealership is a huge plus, not just for the dealership but for the whole north side,” Turner said. “It will change the look and feel of Interstate 45.”