Arnold Clark Automobiles has won Used Car Dealer of the Year category at the 2022 AM Awards.

Maintaining a ‘great’ reputation when you are selling the UK’s highest volume of used cars is an impressive feat.

Doing so while innovating to improve digital retail solutions and seeking to educate motorists on the future direction of the sector is award-winning.

Arnold Clark offers an average 37,000 used vehicles for sales via its online portal and over 100,000 Trustpilot reviews rank it as ‘great’ or above.

The AM100 group’s scale allows it to leverage a team of 100 digital developers, along with dedicated communications and in-house marketing teams and its own film studio to maintain the exposure needed to sustain its impressive market share.

And 2021 saw the group launch its first Innovation Centre – in partnership with Transport Scotland, OLEV, Scottish Power, Energy Saving Trust, Go Ultra Low, Strathclyde University and The NVT Group – to help foster confidence among motorists curious about making the switch to a zero-emissions vehicle.

The business’s franchised retail sites, car and van rental and annual commitment to Motability are all numbered among Arnold Clark’s list of stocking sources.

Its Sell Your Car buying platform has delivered a 120% rise in volumes this year, despite sector-wide stock shortages.

And as well as a website that generated 50m web sessions in 2021, with 230,000 customers going on to buy a car digitally, an Arnold Clark app has been downloaded 410,000 times and has 165,00 active users.

The AM Awards judges ultimately concluded that Arnold Clark matches its scale to slick process and well-conceived innovation to award-winning effect.

 

Highly commended

Peter Vardy

 

Finalists

  • Arbury Motor Group
  • Arnold Clark Automobiles
  • Baytree Cars
  • Marshall Volvo Grantham
  • MCS Performance
  • Peter Vardy
  • TrustFord

 Sponsor's comment:

"Congratulations to Arnold Clark Automobiles the winner of the Best Used Car Dealer (Independent) Award 2022, which Santander Consumer Finance is proud to have sponsored.

"Santander Consumer Finance places great importance on understanding on customer needs to help deliver the right results and ensure sustainability. It is evident that Arnold Clark shares this value, which is exhibited by their ‘great’ reputation.

"Alongside maintaining their highly commended reputation, Arnold Clark Automobiles launched its innovation centre to educate motorists on the future of the sector and enhance their digital solutions.

"We are pleased to have sponsored this award and once again would like to congratulate Arnold Clark Automobiles on winning this award," said Stewart Grant, Santander Consumer Finance's commercial director.

The latest AM industry special issue

Spotlight on the customer

In this issue:

What consumers really want - trends and habits dealers must understand to provide the right buying experience

Barriers to EV purchase - many private motorists need extra help before they take the plunge

Delighting used car buyers - it's essential for retailers to offer tailored experiences and great value

Aftersales customer care - valuable interactions are vital as dealerships face fishing in a diminishing pool

A customer-first future - Steve Young, ICDP MD, gives AM an exclusive insight.

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