Al Tayer Motors, the UAE’s premier automobile dealership, has been ranked number one among Maserati SpA’s 265 international distributors, winning the Trident marque’s newly instituted ‘Global Best Dealer’ award.

The accolade was presented by Roberto Ronchi, CEO, Maserati SpA to Al Tayer Motors representatives at Maserati’s annual international dealer meet held in Modena, Italy, attended by importers from 59 countries.

Congratulating Al Tayer Motors on the achievement Roberto Ronchi said, “We are very happy to work with a partner such as Al Tayer Motors, which guaranteed us invaluable collaboration in 2007. Maserati has posted a tremendous growth over the past year in the area, and we rely on this high-quality partnership to make 2008 and following years as successful.”

Accepting the award on behalf of Al Tayer Motors, Matar Al Tayer, Board Member - Al Tayer Motors said, “We are delighted with this international recognition which marks a great achievement for us and is the result of our strong commitment to providing customers world-class service. We will continue to set industry benchmarks through innovative initiatives designed to enhance our customers’ ownership experience.”

The award covered qualitative as well as quantitative parameters of performance. Al Tayer Motors scored high on customer care, high level of training of the dedicated Maserati team, commitment and quality in using Maserati’s systems as well as substantial investment in new infrastructure.

Other parameters considered for being awarded the Global Best Dealer accolade included, number of units delivered in relation to population, market share increase, substantial investments in marketing and communication activities, generating high level of media attention, remarkable quality level of the events organised, and generating high level of brand awareness.

“We are proud to be the first company to be awarded the Global Best Dealer award and thank the Maserati team for their support and encouragement,” added Ashok Khanna, General Manager, Al Tayer Motors.

Al Tayer Motors also increased the Trident marque’s UAE market share in the luxury automotive segment to nine per cent over the last 12 months.

Maserati enjoyed a landmark year in 2007 with more than 7,350 cars delivered to customers marking a 33.3 per cent increase over the previous year. Its primary markets included the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan followed by Switzerland, France, China, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.