NSW dealers shine in Suzuki retail awards

TEN dealerships have won awards in Suzuki Australia’s 2015 ‘Dealer Excellence’ program, with New South Wales proving to be a stronghold for the brand with four dealerships reaching the highest level.

Suzuki is another brand to have moved away in recent years from traditional Dealer of the Year awards to a broad-based program measuring overall performance against a variety of benchmarks including sales, market share, customer satisfaction and service retention.

The outstanding performers in NSW were Cumberland Suzuki in Sydney, Lindsay Mumford Suzuki in Dubbo, John Patrick Suzuki in Port Macquarie and Kelly Suzuki in Cardiff.

Two dealerships in South Australia – Southside Suzuki and Suzuki in the City, both in Adelaide – and another two in Western Australia – Brian Gardner Suzuki in Perth and Wallace Motors Suzuki in Bunbury – also reached the mark, along with one each in Victoria and Tasmania: Brighton Suzuki in Melbourne and Jackson Suzuki in Hobart.

The gala awards ceremony held in Melbourne recently included presentations for sales volume, with the Cannington-based Brian Gardner Suzuki taking out the national title and Jackson Suzuki securing the rural award.

Cumberland Suzuki, which operates in Blacktown in Sydney’s west, was deemed the top-selling NSW dealership, Brighton Suzuki was Victoria’s sales champion and Suzuki in the City was number one in SA.

Queensland is not included in the program as it is handled by independent distributor Suzuki Auto Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mayfairs W’Sale Pty Ltd.

Suzuki Australia general manager (automobiles) Andrew Moore said that given the brand’s sales growth last year – it climbed 9.6 per cent to 19,086 units – “it’s a priority for us as a company to celebrate the dealers that made it happen”.

He also paid tribute to the broader dealer network, recognising “your passion and enthusiasm which make Suzuki the company it is today” as it looks for continued growth this year with new models such as the Baleno small car and turbocharged version of the Vitara crossover.

As GoAuto has reported, the company is targeting 30,000 annual sales by the end of next year.