Ebbett Volkswagen triumphs at brand awards

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Ebbett Volkswagen in Hamilton was named the marque’s overall dealer of the year  

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Staff from Ebbett Volkswagen, from left, Donavan Roelofse, Poll Oosthuizen, Mikey Stobbs, Naoya Todoroki, Theo Laatz, Nick Forrest, kneeling, Hadleigh van den Engel, Carl Hayman and Josh Ward  

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Poll Oosthuizen, dealer principal at Ebbet Volkswagen, Hamilton, and Greg Leet, general manager of Volkswagen passenger  

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Volkswagen turned on the style at the Town Hall in Auckland for its Dealer of the Year awards evening  

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TV personality Hilary Barry presides over the carmaker’s annual event  

Ebbett Volkswagen staff are all smiles after they scooped five awards, including dealer of the year, at the carmaker’s annual celebration of its New Zealand network.

The Ebbett team from Hamilton won the overall dealer of the year gong, along with the passenger sales department and passenger metro dealer titles, while their colleagues in Taupo took out two provincial categories.

Volkswagen New Zealand says the awards night, recently held at Auckland’s Town Hall, aims to recognise and reward all-round excellence. The event celebrates achievements from the past year across its dealer network and covers parts, service, finance, passenger sales, commercial sales and marketing. 

Representatives from 19 Volkswagen dealerships attended the ceremony, along with staff from European Motor Distributors Ltd and Volkswagen New Zealand.

Greg Leet, general manager of Volkswagen passenger, says the occasion is an opportunity for the brand to show its gratitude to its dealer network. 

“We are privileged to have world-class products from Volkswagen AG but it is our dealer teams that ultimately deliver the Volkswagen experience to our customers,” he adds. “This event is about acknowledging their efforts.” 

The glitzy bash, hosted by TV personality Hilary Barry, also marked the first outing of the refreshed Volkswagen logo that is due to launch in April. 

Kevin Richards, general manager of Volkswagen commercial vehicles, adds that the awards are “about recognising the moments where dealers have gone above and beyond in each area of their business”. 

Volkswagen NZ’s 2019 Dealer of the Year winners: 

PROVINCIAL 
Parts department of the year: Ebbett Volkswagen, Taupo 
Passenger service department of the year: W.R. Phillips, New Plymouth
Commercial service department of the year: Ebbett Volkswagen, Taupo 
Passenger sales department of the year: W.R. Phillips, New Plymouth 
Commercial sales department of the year: Robertson Prestige, Palmerston North 
Marketing department of the year: Southern Motor Group, Dunedin 
Passenger provincial dealer of the year: Robertson Prestige, Palmerston North 
Commercial provincial dealer of the year: Euro City, Napier 

METRO 
Parts department of the year: Farmer Volkswagen, Tauranga 
Passenger service department of the year: Miles Continental, Christchurch 
Commercial service department of the year: Gazley Volkswagen, Wellington 
Business manager: Jackie Colburn, Continental Cars, Auckland
 Passenger sales department of the year: Ebbett Volkswagen, Hamilton 
Commercial sales department of the year: Gazley Volkswagen, Wellington 
Marketing department of the year: Gazley Volkswagen and Miles Continental, Christchurch 
Passenger metro dealer of the year: Ebbett Volkswagen, Hamilton
Commercial metro dealer of the year: Farmer Volkswagen, Tauranga 

Overall Volkswagen dealer of the year: Ebbett Volkswagen, Hamilton