Skoda scoops coveted dealer award

Skoda has been named the ‘Car Franchise of the Year’ by a panel of industry experts at the Motor Trader awards.

The title – contested for the past five years – has previously been won by prestige brands such as Audi and Lexus. It’s given to the carmaker or importer judged to have the best model range, a successful marketing strategy and a close relationship with its dealers; it has to be a “must-have franchise”.

Sitting on the panel and judging the entrants were Louise Wallace of the National Franchised Dealers Association; Ray Hutton, Transport Editor of The Times and a ‘Car of the Year’ judge; Ken Rogers from Business Car; Richard Boss of JATO and Motor Trader’s editor, Curtis Hutchinson.

The award was collected by Skoda’s National Franchising Manager, Iain Semple, who took the stage after hearing these kind words from the Motor Trader team: “The new car market may have slowed down in 2006 but not for Skoda. The brand has been defying the market by growing year-on-year since 2005. It has successfully overcome its image problem by delivering high quality but sensibly priced models – making it an attractive proposition to customers and prospective dealers.”

The title of Car Franchise of the Year comes on the back of an award-filled few months for the resurgent Czech carmaker.

In February Skoda scooped the top brand award in the 2007 Top Gear magazine customer satisfaction poll. Then in March the Skoda Octavia became the top-rated model in the 2007 Auto Express Driver Power survey. A fantastic showing in the 2007 J D Power Study of Customer Satisfaction also saw Skoda take second spot in the What Car?-backed survey.