Mitsubishi names top dealers for 2011

MITSUBISHI Motors Australia Limited has named Gary Fitch from John Hughes Mitsubishi in the Perth suburb of Victoria Park, Western Australia, as its 2011 Metropolitan Dealer of the Year.

In the second year that top metro, provincial and rural dealers have been recognised as part of MMAL’s ‘Distinguished Dealer’ program, Steve Callaghan from Callaghan Mitsubishi in Warrnambool, Victoria, was named Provincial DOTY, and taking back-to-back Rural DOTY awards was Derek Mcilroy from Mcilroy Mitsubishi in Victor Harbour, South Australia.

Other dealer principals honoured in the 2011 program were: New South Wales: Debbie Clark (Penrith Mitsubishi), Craig Sutton (Suttons Mitsubishi), Allen Thomas (Thomas Bros Mitsubishi), John McGuigan (John Oxley Mitsubishi) Queensland: Marc Caton (Eagers Mitsubishi), Shane Beach (Nundah Mitsubishi), Glen Stallard (Blue Ribbon Mitsubishi), Jason Wiegmink (Wide Bay Mitsubishi), David Cassels (Graeme Collins Mitsubishi), David Mete (Mareeba Mitsubishi) Victoria: Stephen Heron (Preston Motors Epping Mitsubishi), Tony Jowett (Heidelberg Mitsubishi) Tasmania: Grant Jenkins (Launceston Mitsubishi) Western Australia: David Di Virgilio (Wanneroo Mitsubishi) and South Australia: Carmine Papillo (North East Mitsubishi).

Open to all Mitsubishi dealerships across the brand’s 200-plus retail network, the ‘Distinguished Dealer’ program assesses areas such as customer satisfaction, sales performance, and service and facility standards.

The awards were presented recently by former MMAL president and CEO Genichiro Nishina, while his successor, Mutsuhiro Oshikiri, also paid tribute to Mitsubishi’s dealer principals and staff who “enthusiastically embrace and promote” the brand and its product range.

This was the second year running a West Australian dealership has won MMAL’s Metropolitan DOTY award, with Paceway Mitsubishi taking out last year’s inaugural title.

John Hughes Mitsubishi’s Gary Fitch was last year named among the Distinguished Dealers and was also heralded this week as the dealer principal of John Hughes Kia at the big multi-franchise operation, becoming the first Kia dealer to sell more than 100 new vehicles in one month, most of them to private buyers.

On the dealer group’s website, John Hughes claims to have been one of the top-three Mitsubishi dealers by sales volume for the past 26 years, and has been acknowledged as a ‘Distinguished Dealer’ for eight consecutive years.