County Antrim independent car dealer John Mulholland Motor Group has been named as the UK’s number one Skoda dealership.
Following the recent completion of a £1million refurbishment, the Randalstown based company topped the field of 135 other ŠKODA retailers to collect the award at a ceremony hosted by Claudia Winkleman in Seville, Spain. It is the first time that the honour has been awarded to a Northern Ireland based dealership.
John Mulholland commented: “We’re blown away at clinching this accolade. It’s a monumental achievement for the dealership and underlines the incredible work everyone here has put in over many years.”
“We’ve managed to see off every single dealer, from every big city across the UK, including a number of major plcs like Lookers, Arnold Clark and the Ridgeway Group.”
“Skoda judged us on every key metric, from new and used car sales through to customer service, to parts, after-sales, return on investment – indeed they go through their dealerships with a fine tooth comb.”\
“Yet we still produced by far the best figures across all measurements. We’re over the moon. It’s such an honour to receive this sort of recognition from Skoda, especially when you consider the level of competition from the rest of the network.”
There was a rather pleasant prologue to the ceremony in Seville. Mr Mulholland and his wife Alicia were flown first class to Dubai, where Skoda’s UK Managing Director Alisdair Stewart hosted them to a VIP bash at the luxury, seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel at which Skoda board member Werner Eichhorn presented John with a plaque to commemorate gaining the accolade of No. 1 dealership in the UK.
John Mulholland concluded: “This means so much to the Group and each of our 60-plus staff. When I started this business, I never thought it would end up with us receiving this sort of recognition from one of the most important car brands in the UK market. We’ve got our reward for having the right people in the right job delivering the right level of performance.”
The Mulholland Group, which also supplies Ford and Hyundai brands and includes the U-First used car department, operates from a complex at Randalstown, complemented by a sister showroom at Campsie, near Derry.
