Celebrating 60 Years of Excellence at Kelly Automotive Group

From The Salem News:

In 1965, Roland D. Kelly opened a small used-car lot in Beverly, wheeling and dealing only 12 vehicles at the time.

Now, after matching six decades in the business with the number of dealerships, it’s a milestone for a family synonymous with automotive excellence throughout New England. October marks 60 years in the industry for the proud, family-run and still expanding Kelly Automotive Group Inc. Led by Roland’s son, President Brian D. Kelly, the group has grown into a multi-million dollar operation with six locations across the North Shore, selling Hondas, INFINTIs, Jeeps, Chryslers and more.

Another decade is in the books, their dealerships are among — not just New England, but all of North America — the highest in performance and satisfaction. It would take the entire owner’s manual tucked in their gloveboxes to list all the achievements, awards, and accolades the dealerships have earned in recent years. Kelly INFINITI was named a six-time CARFAX Top Rated Dealer, Kelly Volkswagen is a 2025 J.D. Power Dealer of Excellence, and Lynnfield’s Nissan dealership selected as the state’s “Dealer of the Year” by cars.com.

For Kelly, the anniversary doesn’t require champagne or a red carpet, as the family members involved in keeping things rolling already see one another on a daily basis. Even family reunions and holidays aren’t the grandest of occasions, Kelly said, considering how he bumps into his sons, sister, and grandkids just on a walk to his office.

It’s a family business through and through, and despite market shifts, a financial crash, and even a global pandemic, the Kellys have proven unbreakable. No matter the road ahead, Kelly Auto has weathered some turbulence in recent years, especially the COVID19 pandemic, as pointed out by both the President and the CEO Brian Heney, Kelly’s son-in-law.

Both Kelly and Heney highlighted the pandemic as one of the more crucial challenges of the past decade. In the years leading up to it, the company had expanded its footprint across the region, but with a widespread virus, dealerships nationwide had to close up shop.

Kelly recalled the 2008 financial crisis, calling the pandemic the first “disaster time” for the business since then. Heney, on the brighter side, added that their operations were forced to adapt overnight, which ultimately bumped Kelly Auto forward.

“I learned a lot from COVID. It made us better operators,” Heney said. “We refined ourselves. We became sharper online. I’d say it pulled us forward 15 years technologically.”

Development – that’s been the name of the game for this family of salesmen for 60 years. Kelly recalled learning the ropes from his father, Roland, back at their humble beginnings in Beverly.

“I remember the first day: me, my sister, and my mother went down and cleaned the windows.” Kelly said. “He started out with a used-car lot with a little building, and he had a permit to display 12 cars. That’s where it all started.”

Kelly said his father provided him with a shining example of how to lead the auto group, basing the business on Roland’s guidance.

If a customer has an issue, it’s taken care of, and if an employee needs assistance, the same goes, Kelly said.

“This was the way I was brought up: doing the right thing is easy,” he said. “I listened. I watched. My father led by example, and I try to do the same thing for my family and all of my employees.”

He learned every aspect of the trade, from washing cars to negotiating sales, then running the dealership for his father. Kelly claimed the role of president in the late 1970s, then hit the gas and never looked back — working tirelessly to steer the company forward.

Now, at nearly 74 years old, Kelly has turned what was a quaint car lot into a network of new and used vehicles. Like his father did for him, Kelly’s kids and grandkids are embedded in every corner of the business — but only where there are openings, he said.

“I wait until there’s an opening; until someone leaves or retires.” Kelly said. “But, it’s not a guaranteed job. If they can’t do the job, then they’ll end up staying in the lot. I’m not going to promote somebody to something they can’t do.”

Kelly went on to share his philosophy about “starting at the bottom,” explaining that nearly every family member begins their first day at Kelly Auto the same way he once did — washing cars and emptying barrels. It’s the same way he mentored his children, like Brian R. and Brenden, who are now vice president at Kelly Jeep Chrysler and general manager at Kelly Volkswagen.

His son-in-law, Heney, 51, however, first stepped onto the showroom floor a year after marrying Kelly’s daughter Kristen, who works in marketing for the company. Heney started by selling cars at Kelly Infiniti, working his way up to executive manager, and eventually, being promoted to CEO in 2012 He’s yet another example of the close company the Kelly family keeps — part of the long lineage that has fueled the business for years.

“For a family business to get to the third generation, it’s really tricky, and to get to the fourth generation is even harder.” Heney said.

Kelly’s grandchildren are progressing through high school and college with every car sold, and the odds are that the next generation of Kellys will be closing deals sooner than later.

The grandsons have spent some summer working as lot boys – attendants responsible for keeping the vehicles organized and clean – so they’ve gotten their foot in the door.

One grandson, Brian Kelly Jr., is a natural in front of the camera, Kelly said, when filming commercials for the auto group. Another, Kellan Heney, currently plays baseball in his last year of college, with his grandfather boasting about his left-handed pitching skills.

Kelly said he’s suggested a major in journalism or communications for Brian, and has encouraged the path of a student athlete for Kellan, but both boys have still come back, expressing interest in joining the family business post-graduation.

“Let them graduate and see what they want to do,” Kelly added. “I don’t want to say to anyone that this is what they have to do.”

Heney echoed that sentiment toward his own children’s career paths, but still puts the hours in to set this company up for the next generation.

“What I would like for the future to hold, I’d like to be able to set it up for my children and my brother-in-law’s children, and them for their kids,” Heney said.

Kelly said he has flirted with the idea of selling the business, claiming he’s received multiple offers in recent years from buyers – especially during the pandemic. But, something would feel off about it, he said.

As of now, he still commutes to work every day after his 6:30 a.m. exercise-bike ride and a healthy breakfast, arriving at one of their dealerships to check in and chat with customers — what he calls “shaking hands and kissing babies.”

“I still go to work every day, and everybody always says, ‘Why don’t you retire?’ I’m having too much fun to retire. I think I’ve got another couple of years in me,” Kelly said.

With the industry’s future challenged by electric cars, surging costs, and tariffs on imported parts, the CEO and president said, the Kellys are firm believers that the company remains in good hands.