It was pomp, glitz and glamour at The Cheki Car Awards Launch as various brands fought it out in a supremacy battle, aimed at recognizing popular car brands and dealerships in Kenya.
The event attracted both new and used car dealers, satellite motor industry affiliates and members of the fourth estate. It was held at the upmarket restaurant ‘The Den’, dusitD2 hotel, in Nairobi.
The awards were awarded to various brands and entities placed in 12 categories, collated to over 300,000 car enthusiasts with over 12,000 votes received at the end of the polling period.
Cheki Kenya then identified five competent judges to sift through the votes, and was composed of Cheki’s resident motor journalist Trevor Lamenya, Daily Nation’s popular columnist JM Baraza, car enthusiast and TV anchor Betty Kyalo, TV host and Twitter ‘bigwig’ Bobby Mwirigi and Leonie Elverfeldt who is the Managing Director, RADP East Africa
They had the task of interpreting the current vehicle trends, which would help dealers to properly market various car brands and buyers to pick the best value for money car in the various categories.
The event was graced by Mr Samuel Kimutai, the Chairman of Kenya Matatu Owners Association, who heaped accolades to Cheki Kenya on hosting a successful awards ceremony. He reiterated the fact that the motor industry employs thousands of Kenyans and adequate policies are needed to protect jobs in the used car industry.
Toyota Kenya emerged victorious as they scooped the best car of the year award while DT Dobie managed to scoop the best luxury car of the year and Honda Motorcycle snatched the Best Motorbike segment. Commercial vehicles were not left behind as Isuzu Kenya bagged best commercial vehicle with their N series trucks.
The Judges then had a special award for the Best New Car Dealership (showroom) which DT Dobie won and the audience then voted for Motorhub as the Best Used Car Dealership in Kenya.
In summary, the results from the survey polling show what kind of cars Kenyans love. This gives a lot of consumer insight for companies that have invested in the motoring industry.
The Inaugural Cheki Car Awards was a runaway success and based on the experience garnered from this event, we’ll make next year’s awards bigger and better.
