How Mantels and EMG triumphed at Kia retailer awards

By John Challen

Liverpool recently played host to Kia’s National Dealer Conference, where the brand’s most rated dealers were recognised in front of more than 1,000 staff and employees from the network.
With a national score of 759 from Reputation.com – a true measure of customer service based on real customer feedback and nearly 100 more points than the industry average – Kia’s retailers are ranked among the best in the UK automotive business. Reflecting this position, Kia has regularly been rated as the top franchise by retailers: number one in the past four successive National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Dealer Attitude Surveys (DAS), adding to Kia’s top three ranking in the past 17 successive NFDA DAS.

Dealer Excellence Awards
The annual Kia Dealer Excellence Awards celebrate performance across the extensive network of 190 UK Kia retailers. Award recipients earned praise for their extraordinary dedication across their businesses in the past 12 months, with the prestigious ‘Dealer of the Year’ Award going to the top retailer, with second and third place each receiving a ‘Dealer Excellence Award’ trophy. New this year at the awards was the ‘EV Excellence Award’ to better reflect the market’s adoption of electric vehicles.
The 2024 outright ‘Dealer of the Year’ was awarded to Mantles (Royston). The business won a further three out of four awards on the night, for ‘Sales Excellence’, ‘Customer Experience’ and ‘EV Excellence’. Mantles (Royston) is no stranger to Kia’s Dealer Excellence Awards, having last year earned the number two place behind only three-time previous winner Gravells (Bridgend).
Coming in second and third for the overall prize were EMG (Cambridge) and EMG (Thetford) respectively. This duo further received ‘Highly Commended’ certificates across the ‘Sales Excellence’, ‘After Sales Excellence’ and ‘EV Excellence’ categories, showcasing their talents across a broad spectrum of the business.
The 2024 winner of the ‘After Sales Excellence Award’ was Gravells (Hereford). This retailer was previously the winner of the 2023 ‘Customer Experience Award’ and this year received a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate in the same category, as well as for ‘EV Excellence’.

Looking ahead
“In 2024, Kia experienced record sales which is testament to the exceptional commitment of our dealers to our customers. Recognising their dedication and incredible achievements is a very proud moment for Kia UK,” commented Paul Philpott, president and CEO of Kia UK. “As we celebrate this success, we are excited to look ahead. 2025 opens further opportunities for us and our dealer partners to take the lead with our brand. Kia is already well-positioned with Government regulations, with half of our vehicles sold being electrified models, and this year we embark on our first full sales year of the EV3 and a busy portfolio of more EV launches.
“With a clear strategy, continuous innovation and the unwavering support of our dealer network, I am confident that we will achieve even greater milestones,” added Philpott. “We are immensely proud of our dealer partnerships and the challenges we have and will continue to overcome together.”