Kia Motors (UK) Limited has another reason to celebrate as the brand has been awarded the accolade of ‘Car-Maker of the Year’ at the Motor Trader Industry Awards 2019. Acknowledged as one of the most prestigious awards event in the vehicle retailing calendar, the awards highlight excellence in business across the board. The awards were hosed by actor, writer and presenter Alexander Armstrong and Motor Trader editor John Kirwan.
This recognition follows on from an important 12 months for the brand as Kia continues to grow in an industry experiencing a decline, selling over 95,000 cars in 2018 and setting a new record for half-year sales total in 2019 with 53,232 new cars being delivered to customers by the end of June.
This long-standing and continual success is down to Kia’s diverse and competitive product range, but also the special relationship between the corporate headquarters and the 192-strong dealer network who work together with mutual respect and consideration.
John Kirwan, Editor of Motor Trader, said: “Kia was the unanimous winner of the Carmaker of the Year Award in 2019 because of the strength of its model line-up, its close relationship with its dealer network, strong new car sales performance in 2018 and profitability of the franchise.”
On collecting the award, Paul Philpott, President and CEO of Kia Motors (UK) Limited said: “We are lucky to be supported by a fantastic 192-strong dealer network, who all represent our brand and product offering perfectly. We’re incredibly proud of the relationship with our dealer partners which has been nurtured and expanded significantly over the years, and it’s certainly the reason we’ve been recognised for this award.”