TrustFord has been named as Fleet Dealer of the Year at the Fleet News Awards as judges recognised the investment made in its fleet operation and a determination to ensure it “stands out from other dealers”.

The Ford of Britain-owned AM100 retail group received its award during the prestigious ceremony hosted by AM’s sister title at the Grosvenor House Hotel, in London, last night (March 20).

Victory marked a hat-trick of wins the category for TrustFord.

Mark Wilkie, Fleet & Commercial Vehicle Director at TrustFord said: “To receive an award judged by industry experts is a fantastic result for our fleet and CV business and is testament to the hard work of everyone in the team.

“We work hard to ensure that we stay ahead of the needs of our fleet customers, so this recognition is hugely important as it measures the service we provide our fleet customers with before and after sales. We are all delighted to receive this accolade.”

Fleet News’s Fleet Dealer of the Year award recognises a franchised retailer which shows an outstanding level of support to its fleet customers, demonstrating an understanding of the challenges they face and providing solutions to match.

TrustFord’s Fleet and Commercial Vehicle sector continues to perform strongly, with more than one in four new Ford commercial vehicles sold in the UK currently supplied by the group.

The award-winning service is headquartered at a specialist Fleet Distribution Centre in Long Marston.

Opened in 2017, it now prepares over 30,000 vehicles of the 50,000 fleet vehicles managed by TrustFord’s Fleet and CV team every year.

The scale of the site reflects the importance of fleet capability to the TrustFord business.

It provides the team with the resources to meet the needs of fleet customers with dedicated IT systems, vehicle storage and preparation facilities, as well as bodyshop and repair capacity.

Commenting on the success of the operation in light of last night’s awards win, Stuart Foulds, chairman and chief executive at TrustFord, said: “This award win is welcome proof of our continued dedication to best practice at TrustFord.

“We operate in a competitive and ever evolving market, so taking home this prize for the third time is something we are very proud of.

“We have always placed service and innovation at the heart of our business, and particularly in our fleet and CV services in which we continue to invest.

“We’ll continue to build on this success to ensure we’re always best in class, driving the standard in customer care.”

The Fleet News Awards cover 29 different categories in total. TrustFord won the accolade based on a written entry and the decision of judges drawn from across the industry.

Fleet News reported that TrustFord’s investment in its fleet operation and the determination to ensure it stands out from other dealers has led to further UK expansion, with a focus on its mobile division were central to its award win.

It noted that the group operates 60 dealership sites across the UK, with nine dedicated business centres and compound and preparation centres across the country, to offer fleet operators “a holistic solution to customers of all sizes”.

The recent expansion of its fleet business into Scotland also reflected well, it said, demonstrating “a singular intention to support its fleet client base”.