Miles Toyota wins supreme award for business excellence

Mark Mills and Miles Toyota have walked away with the top gong at the annual Toyota and Lexus Business Excellence Awards. Miles Toyota also won the Used Vehicle and Finance and Insurance Excellence Awards.

The Toyota Supreme Award recognises this as the best store in the country. It requires all areas of the business to be performing at the highest level. That includes optimal experiences for customers and connecting meaningfully with the local community.

Lexus of North Shore took out the Lexus Supreme Award for the second year in a row. Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President, Andrew Davis, mentioned the overall success of Lexus in 2024. “Finishing 2024 as the second-top selling brand in the luxury market left us all feeling incredibly proud of our Lexus Dealerships. The work they have been putting into the brand has paid off and we now aim to continue that momentum throughout 2025.”

Moreover, “There were a number of new showrooms opened across the country, and there are more to come. We’re excited about what’s in store for Lexus in 2025. Being able to recognise the 2024 efforts of our teams has been immensely satisfying,” he says.

Lexus of Auckland City, which recently moved to a new flagship showroom in Newmarket, took out the Lexus Sales & Marketing Excellence Award.

Miles Toyota also took home the Service Excellence Award and another of the Premier Awards, the Citizenship Award. The latter recognises the contributions and impact that Toyota and Lexus Stores make in the communities they serve. 

Pacific Toyota, a division of Miles Toyota, received the award for their long-term partnership with the ‘Good Neighbour’ programme. This supports local communities with food rescue and distribution. It also partakes in firewood distribution and neighbourhood clean-up projects.

Toyota New Zealand Acting Chief Executive Officer Tatsuya Ishikawa commented “The Leadership teams at our Toyota Stores are deeply invested in creating a thriving business, that’s not only great for the customer but is also well connected to the communities they operate in. 

“Our Stores are actively involved in delivering valuable community work. These Awards give us the opportunity to recognise them for all their hard work,” says Tatsuya Ishikawa.

“Over the past year we not only held onto our number one slot, but we also broke our own Lexus sales record” he added.

“Our new vehicle store network came together to deliver 31,520 vehicle sales during the year and achieved 37 years of market leadership. We’re proud to continue to deliver vehicles that meet the needs of our customers, not to mention all the other services we offer,” he says.

It was also a successful night for Wellington’s Rutherford & Bond and King Toyota Group, the Premier Leadership Award being awarded to new CEO, Derek Tilyard. The Group won the Branch of the Year for its Porirua store.

Finally, the President’s Award, which recognises excellence in customer satisfaction and retention, went to South Canterbury Toyota. 

Northland Toyota won the Parts & Accessories Excellence Award and Prescott Toyota who won the New Vehicle Excellence Award.

Premier Award Winners:

Toyota Supreme – Miles Toyota, CEO Mark Mills

Lexus Supreme – Lexus of North Shore, CEO Mark Jago

President’s Award – South Canterbury Toyota, CEO Mark Patterson

Leadership Award – Rutherford & Bond and King Toyota, CEO Derek Tilyard

Citizenship Award – Pacific Toyota, CEO Chris Bussenschutt

Excellence Award Winners:

Branch of the Year Award – Rutherford & Bond Toyota Porirua, CEO Craig Martin

New Vehicle Excellence Award – Prescott Toyota, CEO Ryan Prescott

Used Vehicle Excellence Award – Miles Toyota, CEO Mark Mills

Parts and Accessories Excellence Award – Northland Toyota, CEO Aaron Budrewicz

Service Excellence Award – Pacific Toyota, CEO Chris Bussenschutt

Finance and Insurance Excellence Award – Miles Toyota, CEO Mark Mills

Lexus Sales and Marketing Excellence Award – Lexus of Auckland City, CEO Sharlene vanDijk