ACT Audi dealer wins fifth straight DOTY title

AUDI Centre Canberra has again starred at the company’s annual ‘Mark of Excellence Awards’, picking up the coveted 2011 Metropolitan Dealer of the Year trophy – its fifth top-dealer award in as many years.

Presented to dealer principal Richard Rolfe recently at a special event in Broome, Western Australia, the award is the ACT dealership’s third consecutive top metro dealer title, and adds to two provincial DOTY awards it won in 2007 and 2008 before becoming a fully fledged metropolitan operation.

Canberra won from Audi Alto Pennant Hills, located in Sydney’s north-western suburbs and operating since 2008 under the leadership of Alto Group managing director Anthony Altomonte.

The flagship Audi Centre Sydney ‘lighthouse’, under dealer principal Joe King, placed third.

Audi Barry Bourke in Berwick, east of Melbourne, took out the top provincial dealer award for 2011, just two years after opening its new premises built according to Audi’s ‘terminal’ style of architecture. Dealer principal Darren Bourke accepted the award.

Left: Darren Bourke from Audi Barry Bourke in Berwick accepts the award for top performing provincial dealer from Audi MD Uwe Hagen.

Audi Centre Cairns, under dealer principal Alan Baxter, took second place in the provincial section, while Jason Collins and his team at Audi Centre Townsville were third.

In presenting the awards, Audi Australia managing director Uwe Hagen recognised the efforts of the German luxury brand’s entire retail network, through which the company racked up more than 14,500 new vehicle registrations last year, up 12.5 per cent on 2010 for its seventh successive year of sales growth.

“Our dealerships are our front line to the customer and therefore, as a premium brand, it is essential that we are able to offer the best customer experience possible,” Mr Hagen said.

“The annual Mark of Excellence Awards allows us to formally and publicly recognise and reward top performance within our network.

“They are designed to recognise and reward the dealership that performs the best in relation to targets across the board in the areas of sales, aftersales, customer satisfaction and, as our brand continues to grow in Australia, dealership facilities are also a focus as they need to reflect excellence within the industry.

“It’s an emotional award ceremony as it reflects the hard work of the entire Audi team. Like any good network, we’re all involved in friendly competition – it’s what pushes us all to be the best.”

The Mark of Excellence awards were established in 2007.