BOULDER — The east Boulder site of Emich VW Boulder, a car dealership that until late last year was Gebhardt Volkswagen, has been sold to the new operator of the lot.

Emich Boulder Real Estate LLC, a holding company registered to the Denver address of the Emich VW dealership in the Mile High City, bought the roughly four-acre parcel at 2470 W. 49th Ave. from Gebhardt Properties 1 LLC for $14 million, Boulder County real estate records show.

Emich bought the business in 2021 for an undisclosed sum.

Auto dealership mergers and acquisitions activity has been fast and furious along the Front Range.

About 25% of Colorado’s 260 dealership locations have either been sold this year or are under contract to sell, the highest percentage in history, according to Tim Jackson, president and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.  

Less than 5% of dealerships change ownership in a normal year, he told BizWest in an interview last month.

In addition to the Gebhardt VW deal, the following dealerships in Boulder changed hands during the past year:

• Boulder Hyundai sold to Foundation Automotive; name changed to Foundation Hyundai of Boulder.
• Larry H. Miller Toyota Boulder sold to Asbury Automotive Group; no name change.
• Pollard Jeep sold to Fowler Auto Group; name changed to Fowler Jeep of Boulder.

According to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, the state’s 260 dealerships provide jobs to more than 43,000 people throughout the state, representing $2.5 billion in total compensation to Colorado residents in 2019. It’s likely those employment statistics will not be impacted much by the spate of dealership sales.