Subaru National Test Drive Champion Announced

Following an exciting country-wide X-Factor-style shoot-out, Subaru UK has found its top test drive champion - Craige Dyer, a sales specialist at Vale Motors, Wincanton.

The Japanese manufacturer's inaugural National Test Drive Champion competition featured franchise dealers from all over Britain, including businesses as far apart as Aird Motors of Invernesshire, and Vale Motors based in Somerset. The competition was created to test the skills of Subaru sales people in turning customer test drives into hot sales leads.

The country was split into five regions, with around 15 dealers from each area competing in heats to earn the right to represent their patch in the national final. Each competing sales person took their respective regional manager for a test drive, during which they were rigorously assessed and marked.

Once each region had to whittle 15 competitors down to one, the top sales person from each area headed to Subaru's UK headquarters in Coleshill, Birmingham, where they were faced with one final, daunting five-way challenge. They had to take Subaru UK Sales Director, Sam Burton, for a test drive where, once again, they were put through their paces.

Following the final showdown, Dyer was named as the winning sales person. He said: "I'm very happy to have won the competition, both for myself and for my dealership. Not only do I take a great sense of pride back to Somerset with me, but also a honed set of sales skills and a renewed desire to improve and learn."

Subaru UK Sales Director, Sam Burton, added: "We take the quality of our dealership experience extremely seriously. After all, the dealer and the test drive is the first point of contact between the customer and Subaru vehicles. Our renowned dealer training and development programme is constantly being revised and adapted to reflect the changing market place in which our colleagues operate, and to help equip dealers to succeed."

Burton continued: "Craige sets a superb example for all sales staff in the Subaru network. His success is a great endorsement of our innovative approach to training and our commitment to helping our dealer partners succeed."