For the first time since 2019, BMW Group Australia celebrated its annual awards ceremony recognising the contribution of its 46 national dealers during an in-person gala event at the Crown luxury hotel and complex in Barangaroo.
Further highlighting the importance of the event, it was attended by BMW Group senior vice president Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Hendrik von Kuenheim in his final visit to Australia ahead of his retirement on May 31, 2022.
He was joined by his successor Jean-Phillipe Parain in his first visit to the country, as well as Mike Wetherell, the new Regional CEO of BMW Group Financial Services for Asia Pacific. They were accompanied by BMW Group Australia executives including chief executive Wolfgang Buechel.
“We were delighted to honour the achievements of our 46 BMW Group national dealers in the most appropriate manner – with all of us finally together at a special event, a fantastic venue, and with the company of our international colleagues,” Buechel says.
“This was an opportunity for us to pay tribute not only to our dealers’ sales success but equally their commitment to invest in the company’s brand portfolio and the creation of an elevated experience for customers while navigating turbulent retail conditions,” he says.
The Dealer of the Year awards for 2021 were awarded to Waverley BMW and Coastline Mini Garage, both of which demonstrated success across key areas of their operations, including customer centricity, target achievement and business excellence.
Other categories in the 2021 Dealer of the Year awards and their winners are as follows:
BMW category winners:
Major Metro dealer of the year (winner) – Waverley BMW
Major Metro dealer of the year (runner up) – Brighton BMW
Metro dealer of the year (winner) – Hornsby BMW
Metro dealer of the year (runner up) – Motorline BMW
Provincial dealer of the year (winner) – Worthington BMW
Provincial dealer of the year (runner up) – Coastline BMW
Rural dealer of the year (winner) – Symes Motors
Rural dealer of the year (runner up) – Blacklocks Prestige
BMW individual honours:
Group 1 – Darren Saul – Auto Classic BMW
Group 2 – Tim Suhinin – Motorline BMW
Group 3 – Raj Fernando – Berwick BMW
Rural – Glenn Goodall – Shepparton BMW
Mini dealer of the year winners:
Group 4 – Townsville Mini Garage
Group 3 – Coastline Mini Garage
Group 2 – Auto Classic Mini Garage
Group 1 – Brisbane Mini Garage
Last year saw BMW Group and its network achieve positive sales growth across both the BMW and Mini brands and a triple digit percentage increase for electrified models.
A total of 24,891 new BMW vehicles were registered in 2021, which represented a 5.8% increase on the 2020 result, while MINI achieved 3,579 new vehicle registrations – a 15.3% increase on the corresponding period a year earlier.
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