On March 23, 2018, the German carmaker honoured its best dealers from around the world at a celebratory awards evening in the BMW Group Classic. Pieter Nota – the BMW AG management board member responsible for sales and the BMW Brand – handed out the awards to the 41 top dealers as a thank-you from the company to its international dealer body, which had worked so hard to make 2017 yet another successful year.
“2017 was the seventh year in a row where we achieved a new sales record. This consistent success is only possible with strong partners in the dealer organisation,” said Nota. “Satisfied customers are what we all strive to have. We are all working with the common goal to become even more customer-focused and service-oriented. Today’s winners are setting a great example and the Excellence in Sales Award is our thank-you to them, recognising their achievement,” he continued.
Awards in six different categories
BMW's Excellence in Sales Award is given in six different categories – in addition to a special Jury Award. In total, 3,100 dealers from 85 countries entered the competition. The highly-qualified jury selected the 41 winners in the Sales, Aftersales, Customer Service, Luxury Class and BMW i & BMW i Performance categories. The Manager of the Year award recognises the exceptional engagement of individual entrepreneurs.
The area of sustainability was given particular importance. To this end, the 'Most Sustainable Dealer' award was introduced this year. An overall winner was then selected in each category. BMW Bavaria Motors, India, was the overall winner in this category. BMW Bavaria Motors is the sole dealer for BMW cars in Pune, Aurangabad and Goa and has seen substantial growth since 2007.
“We are currently in the biggest model offensive in our company’s history,” said Pieter Nota, during the course of the event. “With exciting new models like the BMW X2 and the BMW X3, together with the BMW X4 and BMW 8 Series Coupé coming later this year, I am sure that together with our partners and investors in the dealer body, we will make 2018 another record year.”
THE WINNERS
Category – Best Retailer in Sales
Peter Vardy, United Kingdom
BMW of Westchester, USA
Kolon Motors Uijeongbu, South Korea
BaltAvtoTrade-M, Russia
Hangzhou Hecheng Zhibao, China
Reisacher, Germany
Category – Best Retailer in Aftersales
Fuenteolid, Spain
Schomp BMW of Highlands Ranch, USA
Geelong BMW, Australia
Northcliff Auto, South Africa
Shenzhen Southern Baozen, China
Gottstein, Germany
Category – Best Retailer in Luxury Class
Auto Palace, Slovakia
South Bay BMW, USA
Bavarian Motors Incheon, South Korea
Avilon, Russia
Foshan Shenbao, China
Mulfinger, Germany
Category – BMW i & iPerformance
Bilia, Norway
BMW of Honolulu, USA
Toto BMW, Japan
Abu Khader Automotive, Jordan
Shanghai Baozen Zhonghuan, China
AHAG, Germany
Category – Customer Care
Kohla-Strauss, Austria
BMW of Gainesville, USA
Balcom BMW, Japan
Al Fardan Automobiles, Qatar
Luohe Luodebao, China
Freese, Germany
Category – Manager of the Year
Arie Verschoor , Dusseldorp, The Netherlands
Gonzalo Bosque, Carmen Motors, Mexico
Oleksandr Tymofyeyev, AWT Bavaria, Ukraine
Jeffrey Gan, Sime Darby Auto Bavaria, Malaysia
Zuming Zhang, Shaoxing Baoshun, China
Jörg Felske, Procar, Germany
Jury Award – Best Retailer in Sustainability
Bayern AutoGroup, Denmark
Autogermana, Colombia
Bavaria Motors, India
Nanjing Ningbao, China
Schmidt, Germany