Over 2,300 European retailers were evaluated on their results during a continuous performance monitoring, which is included in the company’s standards. Based on a very demanding set of selection criteria, only 41 Retailers achieved this distinct recognition by Toyota in Europe.
‘Ichiban’ is a Japanese word borrowed from ‘Okyajusama Ichiban’ which means ‘Customer First’, with ‘Ichiban’ meaning ‘first’ or ‘number one’. Since the start of TME’s annual Ichiban Awards in 2006, Customer Satisfaction performance of the Toyota retailers has improved by some 21% points in Sales and 14% points in After Sales.