Special tribute was paid to four retailers in particular – Carlin and Gazzard (South Australia), Mercedes-Benz Adelaide, Mercedes-Benz Berwick (Victoria) and Mercedes-Benz Toowong (Queensland) – which Mercedes Benz Cars Australia said had significantly exceeded all targets under the new sales model.
The prestige car-maker’s annual awards recognise business and individual excellence across its cars, vans and financial services networks, along with this year’s special tribute to the retailers that most successfully executed the fundamental business changes of transitioning to an agency retail model.
At the gala event in Melbourne, retailers representing Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes Benz Vans and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services came together to celebrate a year in which Mercedes-Benz Cars remained the best-selling luxury automotive brand in Australia.
Mercedes-Benz Australia is in the midst of a transition that began in 2022, to be one of the first vehicle brands in Australia – along with Honda – to implement the agency model.
A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Berwick said: “We are thrilled to share the exciting news that Mercedes-Benz Berwick has won again.
“Last night at the 2022 Mercedes-Benz retailer of the year awards, we won an incredible eight individual awards, plus the 2022 Mercedes-Benz Cars transformation champion award and Mercedes-Benz Vans retailer of the year second runner-up award for 2022.
“This milestone adds to our already impressive list of accomplishments, which includes winning metropolitan retailer of the year six out of seven possible times before transitioning to the circle of excellence awards in 2020.
“We are proud to have won both in 2020 and 2021 as well.
“We would like to thank our dedicated team for their hard work and commitment. Most importantly, we would like to thank our wonderful customers. Without you, achievements like this wouldn’t be possible.”
A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Toowong and Mercedes-Benz Macgregor said: “We are incredibly proud of our teams at Mercedes-Benz Toowong and Macgregor for earning the title of transformation champion – a top-three metro dealership in Australia and number one in Queensland.
“Our individual team members also made their way to the stage several times throughout the evening.
“After a year of extraordinary change and challenges, these awards are all the more sweet and so well deserved. Each of these team members had to not only meet targets but also maintain exceptional customer satisfaction scores.
“Achievements like this take a village so, thank you to everyone at Mercedes-Benz Toowong and Macgregor and congratulations.
“Finally, thank you to you, our valued clients for putting your trust in our team and choosing Mercedes-Benz Toowong or Macgregor – it’s better to be with us!”
LSH Auto Australia spokesperson said that the company had “performed outstandingly, once more at the annual Mercedes-Benz Australia retailer of the year awards”.
“Recognition of outstanding performance came across key retail operation disciplines, from sales to finance and aftersales.
“Congratulations to all team members for their contributions to the group’s excellent performance and specific thanks to those who have been central to the achievement of individual awards.
LSH Auto Australia managing director John Good said: “Our performance and the recognition of that is a reflection of our dedication to the pursuit of excellence, a growth mindset and a laser-like focus on delivering an unrivalled total ownership experience.
“It is thanks to every team member’s efforts, that we can take great pride in the recognition we have received.”
In addition to special tributes, the Mercedes-Benz retailer of the year awards for 2022 included:
Retailers of the Year:
Mercedes-Benz Finance Vans Retailer of the Year: Mercedes-Benz Melbourne
Mercedes-Benz Finance Cars Retailer of the Year: Mercedes-Benz Brisbane
Mercedes-Benz Vans Rural Retailer of the Year: Mercedes-Benz Bendigo
Mercedes-Benz Vans Metro Retailer of the Year: Mercedes-Benz Melbourne
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services:
Mercedes-Benz Finance Guild for Vans (runner-up): Mercedes-Benz Unley
Mercedes-Benz Financial Guild for Cars (second runner-up): Mercedes-Benz Melbourne
Mercedes-Benz Financial Guild for Cars (runner-up): G Brothers
In addition, several awards for outstanding individual performance in 2022 were presented that included:
Mercedes-Benz Vans:
Mercedes-Benz Vans Service Advisor of the Year: Matt Cole, Mercedes-Benz Geelong
Mercedes-Benz Vans Rural Service Manager of the Year: Ben Collins, Carlin & Gazzard
Mercedes-Benz Vans Metro Service Manager of the Year: Scott Ussia, Mercedes-Benz Macarthur
Mercedes-Benz Vans Rural Parts Manager of the Year: Darrell Benfield, West-Star Motors
Mercedes-Benz Vans Metro Parts Manager of the Year: Stavros Konstantinos, Mercedes-Benz Brisbane
Mercedes-Benz Vans Rural Sales Executive of the Year: Andrew Harrison, Mercedes-Benz Geelong
Mercedes-Benz Vans Metro Sales Executive of the Year: Luke Vrettos, Mercedes-Benz Sydney
Mercedes-Benz Vans Rural Sales Manager of the Year: Richard Sullivan, Mercedes-Benz Mornington
Mercedes-Benz Vans Metro Sales Manager of the Year: Jonathan Hooper, Mercedes-Benz Brighton
Mercedes-Benz Cars:
Mercedes-Benz Cars Rural Parts Manager of the Year: Jarrod Adams, North Jacklin
Mercedes-Benz Cars Metro Parts Manager of the Year: Mahmut Baran, Mercedes-Benz Brighton
Mercedes-Benz Cars Rural Service Manager of the Year: Ben Collins, Carlin & Gazzard
Mercedes-Benz Cars Metro Service Manager of the Year: Anthony La Pierre, Mercedes-Benz Berwick
Mercedes-Benz Cars Autobody Manager of the Year: Andrew Duncan, Perfect Auto Body
Star Guild:
Rural Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Consultant of the Year: Barry Churcher, Mercedes-Benz Bunbury
Metro Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Consultant of the Year: Rukie Wickramasinghe, Mercedes-Benz Waverley
Rookie Salesperson of the Year: Metehan Korkut, Mercedes-Benz Sydney
EQ Vehicle Consultant of the Year: Isaac Yang, Mercedes-Benz Brisbane
AMG Brand Manager of the Year: Daniel Bey, Mercedes-Benz Berwick
Rural New Vehicle Sales Consultant of the Year: Reme Irvine, Mercedes-Benz Wollongong
Metro New Vehicle Sales Consultant of the Year: Kevin Wu, Mercedes-Benz Toowong
Rural Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Manager of the Year: Troy Neal, Mercedes-Benz Wollongong
Metro Pre-Owned Vehicle Sales Manager of the Year: Jake Buxton, Mercedes-Benz Berwick
Metro New Vehicle Sales Manager of the Year: Shaun Gross, Mercedes-Benz Berwick
By Neil Dowling