7:15 am, August 17, 2026
‘Once you’ve tasted success, you want more!’
That is the verdict of Infinity Motors founder Sohib Ghafouri who is encouraging dealers to put themselves forward forward to be with in with a chance of winning at the 2026 Car Dealer Used Car Awards.
The Swindon-based retailer scooped the Used Car Online Sales Experience gong at last year’s awards, with Ghafouri describing the experience as ‘phenomenal’.
He says that the recognition has been a major boost for the business and given his team an ‘added spring in its step’.
He told Car Dealer: ‘It was a phenomenal feeling being recognised as the best in that category both for me and more importantly for the wider business.
‘The team work extremely hard on a daily basis and with competition so strong, it means a great deal to everyone associated with the business to have won the award.’
‘Of course there is a spring in everyone’s step because of the positivity around the win and the recognition from the industry also doesn’t go unnoticed.’
After tasting victory last year, Infinity Motors is hungry for more success at this year’s ceremony, hosted once again by TV’s Wheeler Dealer, Mike Brewer.
Ghafouri says the awards play an important role in bringing the motor trade together and giving dealers the chance to celebrate their achievements.
He is now encouraging other dealers to fill in our nominations form to be in with a chance of glory.
‘There are so many important elements to the Used Car Awards where the best of the trade convene in one glitzy room and just celebrate,’ he said.
‘That is super important because of the intensity that goes in year round, but equally, it’s a chance to build your network and learn from your peers and celebrate their success.
‘Once you’ve tasted success, you want more!
‘I would encourage every retailer to nominate themselves because I know there are very talented and vastly successful car dealers out there who maybe haven’t had the time to make their submissions – I was one of those people.
‘Whether you win or not is beyond your control, but you will miss out on so much more by not being there.’
Nominations open
With voting now underway, here are the other key dates for your diary:
- Nominations close: Monday, September 28
- Nominations (long list) revealed: Monday, October 5
- Shortlist revealed: Monday, October 19
- Awards night: Monday, November 30
To be in with a chance of a trophy, our nominations form needs to be completed and the process couldn’t be any more straightforward!
All you need to do is select the category that you’d like to nominate yourself or someone else for on the form and supply the requested details.
From there, all entries will be judged by our Car Dealer experts, who will whittle them down to a nominations list.
The nominees will then be subjected to further judging before a final five go through to the big night, when the winners and highly commendeds will be announced.
The judging process includes our rigorous mystery shopping, which secretly checks how dealers handle inquiries – meaning that anyone hoping to make the shortlist will have to stay on the ball all the time.
A full list of the categories in which dealers can vote can be found below. For suppliers and companies wishing to sponsor categories there are still a handful of opportunities available – but don’t hang around. Contact us now to discuss.
- Dealers’ Dealer — Dealerkit
- Service & Repair Outlet – Sponsorship available
- Used EV Dealer of the Year — Warrantywise
- Social Media User – Sponsorship available
- Use of Video — Carwow
- Used Car Website — Visitor Chat
- Used Car Online Sales Experience — Central Car Auctions
- Specialist Used Car Dealership — Warranty First
- Used Car Sales Team — Diamondbrite
- Used Car Dealer Principal — Warranty First
- Future Star — Northridge Finance
- Used Car Customer Care (and sub-categories) — RAC Dealer Network
- Used Car Supermarket — Cazoo
- Newcomer Dealership — Jigsaw Finance (T2T)
- Used Commercial Vehicle Dealer — Close Brothers Motor Finance
- Days To Turn Award — Autotrader
- Diversity and Inclusion – Sponsorship available
- Headline Sponsorship — Black Horse
- Used Car Dealership: Up To 50 Cars — Black Horse
- Used Car Dealership: 51–100 Cars — Black Horse
- Used Car Dealership: Over 100 Cars — Black Horse
- Used Car Dealership Group — Black Horse
- Outstanding Achievement – Sponsorship available
- Lifetime Achievement — GardX
We’ll also be naming the best used cars in six categories, plus the overall Used Car of the Year from those six, along with Manufacturer Used Car Scheme:
- Small Car – Autoglym
- Mid-Sized Car – Autoglym
- Executive Car – Autoglym
- SUV – Autoglym
- AFV (Alternatively Fuelled Vehicle) – Autoglym
- Manufacturer Used Car Scheme of the Year – Sponsorship available
The prizes will be dished out in a glitzy ceremony at The Brewery, London on November 30.