12:17 pm, March 8, 2021
Motorline’s Volkswagen division has been named the manufacturer’s UK Retailer Group of the Year for 2020.
All four of its businesses – Coulsdon, Gatwick, Horsham and Tunbridge Wells – made the top 11 retailer positions out of the 179-strong network.
Coulsdon was fifth, Gatwick seventh, Horsham eighth and Tunbridge Wells eleventh, resulting in Motorline achieving the accolade.
In addition, the Horsham dealership, pictured, was crowned Most Improved Retailer after rising 166 places in the VW retailer league.
The transition in 12 months was attributed to strong foundations, an established team and collectively overachieving in tough conditions through a great team effort.
It comes hot on the heels of Motorline’s triumph at Hyundai UK’s dealer awards, where it scooped three of the seven trophies.
The VW awards celebrated dealerships that had performed at the highest level in sales, aftersales and customer experience,
Motorline group operations director Tim Murphy said: ‘Achieving these awards shows the effort, passion and commitment from our Volkswagen management team and are testament to the hard work and dedication of all our staff.
‘Given the challenging trading conditions, to see such improvements has been nothing short of outstanding.
‘I am very proud of their individual achievements and the greater recognition as the best Volkswagen retailer group in the country.
Special mention
‘Our relationship with the Volkswagen UK team is the cornerstone of our success, and we are delighted to continue our growth and development through that partnership.’
Volkswagen Gatwick was also given a special mention during the ceremony for its exceptional efforts during the first lockdown.
The dealership provided servicing, MOTs and repairs for blue light vehicles, the NHS and London Air Ambulance, offering free labour and cost-price parts to help and support the emergency services and key workers.
Volkswagen UK sales director Patrick McGillycuddy said: ‘Motorline are a highly valued partner of Volkswagen who richly deserve these awards for 2020.
‘The team under the excellent leadership of Tim Murphy have excelled across all of our categories, with a number of their sites climbing over 100 places since 2019.
‘The teams are 100 per cent focused on great customer service and I look forward to them pushing on even further in 2021.’
Motorline chief executive Thomas Obee commented: ‘This is an outstanding achievement, and we are extremely proud to receive these awards and the recognition from the senior management team at Volkswagen UK.
‘It clearly demonstrates our commitment to delivering a premium and very personal service for our customers to experience the Volkswagen brand.
‘Our group focus is on providing exceptional high standards with class-leading customer facilities and offering the highest level of customer service as a result of our investments in training and systems.
‘Over the past three years, we have increased our customer-facing staff training, and the awards from Volkswagen UK are a clear signal that our training and development is driving the successes we are seeing.’
Image: Google Street View
