Sandown Group has been named Mercedes-Benz Retailer of the Year at the manufacturer’s annual dealer awards ceremony.

Other winners include Vertu Motors for new car sales team of the year, City West was awarded used car sales team of the Year and Western Automobile Company won customer service team of the Year.

Sandown Group – which has sites in Basingstoke, Guildford, Salisbury, Hindhead, Poole, Farnborough, Dorchester, Newbury and Epsom – picked up the headline award for its “outstanding performance” in every area of the business. This includes new car sales, customer service, Approved Used car sales, workshop retail hours and customer retention.

The AM100 business represents Mercedes-Benz and Smart across 10 locations in the south of England.

It opened its first venture with the Mercedes-Benz Vans franchise, in December, in Poole.

Sandown Group also acquired Mercedes-Benz Epsom, In November, from Mercedes-Benz Retail Group.

Gary Savage, managing director, Mercedes-Benz Cars UK, said: “Sandown have a strong and committed management team with a customer centric approach to delivering excellent service.

“Our retail partners are a vital part of our success in the UK and as the industry continues to experience real change, I’m delighted that they are embracing the challenges and continuing to offer our customers an exceptional experience.”

Mercedes-Benz has reached an agency model agreement with its retailers which will lead to the new retail framework's introduction in the UK from 2023.