10:47 am, January 20, 2022
Kia UK has named the winners of its 2021 Dealer Excellence Awards with Gravells of Bridgend claiming the overall Dealer of the Year crown.
It was followed by Burton Kia and Evans Halshaw of Stourbridge in second and third place respectively.
Burton Kia was also the only UK recipient of the Platinum Prestige Dealer Award, which is given to just three per cent of Kia dealers globally for exceptional performance across sales, aftersales and customer experience.
Meanwhile, Lookers of Stockport hung on to the Sales Excellence Award for another year – its fourth win in five years for the same title.
Premier Automotive of Rochdale won the Aftersales Excellence Award for a second year running, winning praise for its sales of parts and accessories and overall customer service and retention, especially against the unique challenges of 2021.
Ian Bullock, managing director/owner of Burton Kia, right, receives the dealership’s second-place award from Paul Philpott. Burton Kia was also the only UK recipient of the Platinum Prestige Dealer Award
Another repeat winner, Ken Jervis of Stoke-on-Trent, was recognised once again as winner of the Customer Experience Award.
The dealership was commended for its outstanding customer focus and commitment to providing consistently high-quality customer service over the past year.
It’s the second year in a row that Ken Jervis has won this award, as well as having won it twice before and finishing in the top three annually for the past 10 years.
The winners from Kia’s 192-strong dealer partners were announced at the Kia UK National Dealer Conference, which was held in Liverpool’s ACC conference and event venue, and they were all praised ‘for their exceptional efforts during a challenging yet record-breaking year for Kia’.
Kia UK added: ‘Innovation was key to the success of each award winner, with dealerships exhibiting versatile solutions to continue to serve customers.’
It said it achieved a record market share in 2021 of 5.5 per cent with 90,817 sales. The Sportage was its most popular model last year, ranking ninth best-seller in the total market.
2021 also saw the launch of the fully electric EV6, which debuted to customers with a tour that visited every Kia dealer across the country.
Kia UK president and CEO Paul Philpott said: ‘Congratulations to all this year’s award winners.
‘We are immensely proud of our dealer partners, who have each helped deliver a record market share for Kia last year, as well as continuous innovation in the face of unique challenges to ensure customers and their communities are always placed at the heart of the business.’
Pictured at top are Gravells Kia Bridgend general manager Cassian Wright, right, and Paul Philpott
