Toyota New Zealand held their Dealership Excellence Awards in Auckland in February with Hamilton-based Ebbett Toyota having a hat-trick of successes taking out three of the 12 categories.
Ebbett Toyota collected the Parts and Accessories Excellence Award for the second consecutive year, which acknowledges Ebbett Toyota’s outstanding systems and infrastructure.
Parts and accessories manager Duncan Fraser leads this outstanding team and attributes this award to the dedication and commitment of his hard-working team and the teams at their branches.
The accolades didn’t end there, as Lexus of Hamilton (led by Lennon Singh) and Lexus of Tauranga (led by Mike Ranstead) were nominated for the Lexus Supreme Award and chief executive officer Tony Coutinho also accepted the Excellence in Leadership Award again for the second consecutive year.
“This award is not won by one single person, as great leadership is the responsibility of the entire team, so I accept this award for all of our Leaders at Ebbett Toyota,” Coutinho says.
This year saw a new award being added to the night – the Citizenship Award.
The Citizenship Award focuses on the Toyota Dealerships that support their local communities and who make positive social, environmental and cultural impacts.
Ebbett Toyota was recognised for no less than 10 initiatives aligned with the Toyota vision of mobility for all and was complimented on the deep and lasting partnerships gained in the community.
An initiative specifically mentioned was the ‘Community MOOver’, a community van available to not-for-profit groups, schools, local sports teams, or other organisations to use free of charge as transport for events.
“We are really honoured to win this award, as we know how much of a difference the Community MOOver makes to so many people,” Coutinho says.
“The Community MOOver was never intended to be something that would win any awards, we simply saw a need in our local community and did something about it, for no other reason than it being the right thing to do.”
Toyota New Zealand’s chief executive officer Neeraj Lala explains the awards celebrate the annual achievements of its network and their contribution to keeping Toyota as the leading mobility brand in New Zealand.
“In 2022, we not only held onto our number-one slot against some tough competition and regulatory challenges, but we also successfully launched ‘Let’s Go Places’, a new company vision focused on sustainability, mobility and community,” Lala says.
Lala goes on to say “Despite the ongoing supply chain impacts in 2022, it was a great year for our stores and the Toyota and Lexus brands, with customer excellence and community at the heart of what they do every day.”
For more information about Ebbett Toyota’s Community MOOver visit www.communitymoover.co.nz
