Kia Voted Best Manufacturer at Car Dealer Awards

AUTO CENTRAL, UK -- August 1, 2014: Car Dealer magazine awards voted for by dealers Kia takes top honour Kia topped Car Dealer magazine’s Power awards, held at the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, when it was named the Best Manufacturer in the country-wide poll amongst new car sales dealerships.

Announcing the award James Batchelor, editor of Car Dealer, said: “This is the highest accolade the trade can give – there are no judges, no panel of experts – the decision lies solely with the thousands of people working in dealerships up and down Great Britain. Kia has experienced a transformation. It has revamped its product range and received plaudits for a number of initiatives which have gone down well with dealers and their customers.

“It is an outfit that has moved with the times. It has fully embraced online feedback to enhance its reputation and make a name for itself as an open and transparent company to do business with,” he added.

Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia Motors (UK) Limited, commented: “This is a fantastic endorsement of the hard work everyone at the company puts in to delivering the best possible service to our dealers. That partnership is at the heart of everything we do.

“We are very fortunate to have an excellent network of dealers and I am very proud, and humbled, that they should reward us like this,” he added.

Kia has 179 dealers currently in its network across the UK and has maintained increasing new vehicle sales over the last decade making it one of the strongest growing brands in the UK new car market.

Philpott added: “It is a vital part of our strategy that we seek to deliver profitable and organic growth for our dealers and in purely retail terms Kia is one of the top five volume brands in the country. That is essential for dealer confidence when we ask them to grow with us by investing in ever-better facilities and services for customers. The fact that only dealers can vote in the Car Dealer Power awards suggests that our dealers recognise the steps we are taking to continue to build this brand in the UK.”