It was also a case of deja vu with Hino Australia’s 2018 Dealer of the Year awards, with Prestige Hino in Dandenong, Victoria, winning the metropolitan title for the fourth consecutive year while Newcastle Hino in New South Wales was named best regional dealer for the fifth time – four of which were in the past six years.

Renault’s 2018 awards see Essendon Renault crowned top metro dealer for the fourth time in the past five years, with dealer principal Don Calvert and general manager Peter Morris thanking everyone involved for the dealership’s continued success in a year when it alone was responsible for about eight per cent (800 units) of the brand’s entire national sales of just over 10,000 units.

Renault Ballarat dealer principal Carl Morandi and general manager Ric de Ruiter were also centre stage again at the awards ceremony held in Sydney recently as the dealership was recognised for its outstanding performance.

Top flight: Essendon Renault’s Don Calvert (right, holding trophy) and Ballarat Renault’s Ric de Ruiter (left), flanked by Peter Morris (r) and Carl Morandi (l), with Renault Australia’s general manager of network sales Steve Ellis (at back).

Ballarat continually punches above its weight, having not only won a string of provincial DOTY awards in past years, but standing as the first and only regional dealership to win Renault’s top national dealer title (in 2016) before the Dealer Brilliance for Excellence Award program was restructured and a single overall award was dropped.

Mr Morandi, Mr de Ruiter and the team were also quick to acknowledge the support of all concerned, saying: “Ballarat Renault would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who made this award possible once again – all the staff, customers, suppliers and the whole Ballarat Renault family!

“We’re very humbled to receive this award for the fifth year in a row, and we are looking forward to an even bigger and better next 12 months.”

Other 2018 Renault Dealer Brilliance Award winners were: Peninsula Renault (Seaford, Vic), Village Renault (North Lakes, Qld), Rex Gorell Prestige (Geelong, Vic), Neil Buckby Motors (Launceston, Tas), Brighton Renault (Vic) and Watson Renault (Bundoora, Vic).

Renault currently has 58 dealers in its national network, and, as with other similar retail incentive programs, its ‘Brilliance’ awards are based on a broad criteria including sales and aftersales performance and customer satisfaction.

Renault Australia managing director Andrew Moore said: “The dedication and commitment of our dealer network to the Renault brand continues to impress me, and it is with great pride that we recognise those dealerships who have achieved excellence.

“Our Dealer of the Year event is an opportunity to recognise the outstanding efforts made by all of our dealerships across the country and to celebrate our ongoing partnership.

“I am so pleased to announce Essendon Renault and Ballarat Renault as our Dealers of the Year. Essendon’s performance selling over 800 vehicles in 2018, and Ballarat achieving almost 2.5 per cent market share are achievements which set both dealerships apart.”

Over at Toyota’s truck brand Hino, which also held its DOTY awards at a ceremony in Sydney recently, the winning dealer principals – Prestige Hino’s Angelo Valerio and Newcastle Hino’s Kevin Purcell – both paid tribute to their respective teams and pointed to customer service, teamwork and employee dedication as key elements of business success.

“As I walk into the dealership each day I can see every employee is committed to our customers and to their team – our managers have done an exceptional job driving the performance culture each day,” Mr Valerio said.

“I look forward to 2019, because if the last four years are any indication, our team will continue to improve on what we currently have to excel even further for Hino and our customers, which we hope will result in a sixth Dealer of the Year title for Prestige Hino.”

Mr Purcell added: “Our team is focused on being the best that we can possibly be, and to have our efforts recognised and applauded is awesome.

“I am immensely proud of everybody at Newcastle Hino, and it is a continuing pleasure and privilege to lead such a committed group of people.”

Reinforcing this, Prestige Hino’s Danny Timewell was also named 2018 Salesperson of the Year, while the dealership also won the metropolitan class of the newly segmented Customer Experience – Sales category.

Northpoint Hino in Port August, South Australian, took out the regional class for the latter.

The metro class of the Customer Experience – Service award was won by Adtrans Hino in NSW – operating in Smeaton Grange, Mascot and Gosford – and the regional gong went to Pacific Hino in Cairns.

Among other major category winners, CMI Hino Adelaide took out the Hino Financial Services Award, while West Orange Motors in NSW was recognised for its 40-year partnership with the brand.

The awards ceremony was attended by Hino Motors Limited managing officer Megumu Yamashiki, Hino Motor Sales Australia president and COO Sam (Takashi) Suda and Hino Australia’s chairman and CEO, Steve Lotter.

Mr Lotter said the brand’s strong sales result last year – 5646 units, which was enough to keep it in second place in the market, with only Isuzu ahead – owed much to the combined efforts of the dealer network and the corporate team.

“With an increase in sales of 17 per cent in 2018 compared with 2017, Hino outperformed the market, taking our market share to 15.8 per cent,” he said.

“Likewise, we achieved record results in both the service and parts divisions of the business.

“Our ongoing focus on the customer has translated to a continued high customer experience score which provides us with the strong foundation we require for further growth.”

By Terry Martin

L-R: Hino Motors managing officer Megumu Yamashiki, Prestige Hino DP Angelo Valerio, Hino Australia president and COO Takashi Suda, Newcastle Hino DP Kevin Purcell and Hino Australia chairman and CEO Steve Lotter