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Audi ‘s Silver Arrow Awards
(For Dealers, not Racing Drivers)
To enthusiasts, the term Silver Arrows normally refers to cars that raced in Grands Prix of the 1930s. And indeed,
the name is more often associated with Mercedes than it is with the four-ringed marque, today known as Audi.
However, in 2012, The ‘Audi Silver Arrow Awards’ is an incentive awards programme that recognises outstanding
performance in the company’s South African Audi Dealer Network.
(Left to right) Ryan Searle – Head of Audi South Africa
David Powels – MD: Volkswagen Group
Ken Pearsall – Dealer Principal: Audi Centre Pinetown
Mike Glendinning – Sales and Marketing Director: Volkswagen
Group
Hassen Salie – Manager: Dealer Development
(Left to right) Ryan Searle – Head of Audi South Africa
David Powels – MD: Volkswagen Group
Brad Kaftel – Group MD: Hatfield Motor Group
Mike Glendinning – Sales and Marketing Director: Volkswagen
Group
Hassen Salie – Manager: Dealer Development
The ‘Silver Arrow’ racing cars date back to the
1930’s when they dominated the legendary racing
circuits of Europe. With the introduction of the
Auto Union (Audi) challenger, Mercedes stripped
the paint from their racing cars in order to reduce
weight and remain competitive. The Auto Unions
that raced in the ‘30s were similarly finished in bare
aluminium bodywork, and thus, for a short time,
both Mercedes and Audi were united by the cars’
nickname that they were given by the press, namely,
the Silver Arrows.
Now, in 2012, The ‘Audi Silver Arrow Awards’
scheme sets the standard by which all Audi
Dealerships are measured, and there are no links
to Mercedes-Benz at all, other than that Audi is no
doubt hungry for conquest sales from its Stuttgart
rivals. The business pillars that are evaluated during
this process are New and Pre-owned vehicle
sales, Customer Delight, Parts Sales, Audi Financial
Services and Dealer Operating Standards.
In mid-May, Audi Centre Pinetown was announced
as the Audi Dealer of the Year for 2011 at a
prestigious gala dinner at the Sandton Convention
Centre on the 18th May 2012.
Audi Centre Pinetown has managed
to attain this achievement despite
new building construction taking
place at their Main Road premises
in Pinetown in preparation for
their new terminal building
opening in September 2012.
Audi Centre Pinetown has managed to attain
this achievement despite new building construction
taking place at their Main Road premises in
Pinetown in preparation for their new terminal
building opening in September 2012.
“Audi South Africa is very pleased with the level
of engagement of the entire Audi Dealer network in
the Silver Arrow Awards programme. We are proud
to announce Audi Centre Pinetown as the Dealer
of the Year. Ken Pearsall and his team have shown
great commitment to the Audi brand in the past
year.” says Ryan Searle, Head of Audi South Africa.
The award for the Dealer Group of the Year was
won by the Hatfield Motor Group under the leadership
of Brad Kaftel, who by the end of 2012 will
be the proud owner of two Audi centre terminals,
namely, Audi Centre Hatfield in Pretoria and Audi
Centre Rivonia in Johannesburg.
■■
Talking about modern-day Silver Arrows, it
must have pleased Audi personnel all over
the world immensely, to score the world’s
first major race victory with a diesel-hybrid
car, at last weekend’s Le Mans 24_hour
Endurance Race. It was Audi’s 11 th Le Mans
victory. ■