Audi sales manager Dietmar Elsasser personally congratulated the winning team and emphasized how exceptionally well the succession plan had gone at Kuhn & Witte. Alluding to a current expansion project, the manager also said: "These ladies and gentlemen have vision."
The jury rewarded the performance of the Dirkes dealership from Cologne with second place. Fiat Germany boss Roberto Debortoli, a manufacturer representative, also took the opportunity to congratulate the dealership team, headed by senior manager Frank Perez, at the awards ceremony: "You stand for professionalism, innovation and passion - keep your foot on the gas pedal."
Auto-Zentrale Thiel from Rheda-Wiedenbrück (Volkswagen) and Autohaus Freese from Oldenburg (BMW) were able to score points with their well thought-out strategies, for which the judges awarded third place twice.
VW regional manager Hilmar Niebel was quick to praise his dealership: "The fact that you have managed to rename the street in front of your dealership 'Karl-Thiel-Straße' as part of the latest new build shows just how passionate you are about cars." BMW area manager Daniel Höhn also made the trip to thank his sales partner for the excellent brand representation: "Customer satisfaction is your hobbyhorse," he said to the BMW Freese team from Oldenburg.
For the first time this year, the jury also awarded a special prize, which went to the Schlesner car dealership in Nienburg for its impressive commitment to electromobility.
"Not only the winners, but each of the participating companies presented themselves very well, and it was once again difficult for the jury to determine the final ranking this year," said "kfz-betrieb" editor-in-chief Wolfgang Michel at the award ceremony at the Vogel Convention Center in Würzburg.
Holger Schade, Member of the Board of the German Association of the Motor Trade, reminded the audience in his welcoming address that car sales are becoming an ever greater challenge in view of the rapid developments, particularly in the IT sector.
The winners of the "kfz-betrieb" Sales Award 2017:
1stplace: Kuhn & Witte, Jesteburg
2.2nd place: Automobilgruppe Dirkes, Cologne
3. 3rdplace: Auto-Zentrale Thiel, Rheda-Wiedenbrück
3rdplace: Autohaus Freese, Oldenburg3rd place: Autohaus Freese, Oldenburg
Special prize: Autohaus Schlesner, Nienburg
5.Place: Autohaus Niedermayer, Neukirchen
6.Place: Porsche Center Bensberg, Bergisch Gladbach
7.Place: Autohaus Weeber, Herrenberg
8.Place: Autohaus Hartmann, Münster
9.Place: Autohaus Timmermanns, Düsseldorf
10. Place: Autohaus Ebert, Weinheim
"kfz-betrieb" is the most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry and has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for over 100 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German automotive trade (ZDK), the professional interest group for around 38,000 car dealerships and workshops. News from the entire automotive industry is available at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter. The parent company Vogel
Business Media is Germany's largest trade media company with 100+ trade magazines, 100+ web portals, 100+ business events as well as numerous mobile offerings and international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg. The company celebrated its 125th birthday in 2016.
