Vertu Motors, Chorley Group, TL Darby Volkswagen and Available Car Supermarkets were among the winners of the 2019 Auto Trader Retailer Awards.

More than 100 motor retailers, the top performers of all the car dealers which advertise on Auto Trader’s digital marketplace, gathered in London to see which of them would be recognised as at the absolute top of the car sales business.

Winners were selected for most of the awards from three separate volume categories: A) under 50 cars, B) 50-100 cars and C) over 100 cars, and presented with their trophies by group sales director Darren Moon (pictured left) and manufacturer and agency director Rebecca Clark.

  • The headline award, Retailer of the Year, was awarded to Smallbone & Son (A), Angus MacKinnon (B) and Chorley Group (C).
  • The Customer Choice Award winners were Kingsmead Cars  (A), Alex Scott Cars (B) and Available Car Supermarkets (C).
  • The Customer Experience Award was won by Crompton Way Motors (A), TL Darby Volkswagen (B) and Vertu Motors (C).
  • The Digital Excellence Award went to Prestige Cars Cardiff (A), Norman Motors (B) and CarShop (C).
  • The Business Initiative of the Year Award was presented to Greendale Cars (A), Martin Brothers Motor Company (B) and Carbase (C).
  • The winners of the People & Culture Award were Choose Leisure (under 200 cars), and Arnold Clark (over 200 cars).
  • Cedar Specialist Cars, a business only trading for one year but excelling in stock management, received the Rising Star Award.

While most winners were selected from a combination of Auto Trader’s data, mystery shops, and a judging panel, dealers had been required to enter themselves for the People & Culture Award and the Business Initiative of the Year Award.

18

Auto Trader’s UK group sales director Darren Moon said: “Over the last few months we’ve used our most comprehensive judging process to date to whittle down over 13,000 retailers to just 18. Not only did we use a very prestigious judging panel of experts, but also the opinions of thousands of car buyers, an in-depth analysis of millions of data points from across our marketplace, and also one of the largest mystery shopping exercises of its kind.

“This year’s finalists and overall winners absolutely represent the very cream of British retailing and we’re thrilled to be able to recognise and celebrate their success.”