Pictured: James Barter, Alex Turner, James Jeffries and Emily Walsh represent Rygor at the 2026 WhatVan? Awards.
Rygor Group is proud to announce that it has been named Van Dealer of the Year at the prestigious 2026 WhatVan? Awards, a recognition of its exceptional performance across sales, aftersales, team culture, and community impact.
The judging panel praised Rygor for its people-first approach, innovative operations, and commitment to sustainable growth, noting that these values deliver outstanding results for both customers and employees.
In 2024 alone, Rygor registered over 4,000 vans, representing more than 1% of total UK van registrations. This achievement was supported by a seamless sales and aftersales process, generating 420,000 labour hours and earning consistent praise from customers for professionalism and reliability.
Emily Walsh, people and culture executive at Rygor attended the awards to represent the company and commented: “This award reflects the incredible dedication of our team. At Rygor, we believe that when our people thrive, our customers benefit and this recognition proves that our culture of being rewarding, reliable and respectful truly makes a difference.”
James Jeffries, van sales business development manager who also attended the event, added: “Winning Van Dealer of the Year is a testament to our commitment to delivering exceptional service and innovative solutions. We’re proud to set the standard in the industry and look forward to continuing to exceed expectations. It’s always a pleasure getting to work with our customers to provide vehicles which allow them to keep their businesses moving forward and ensuring vehicle uptime in conjunction with my brilliant colleagues in our aftersales teams.”
Beyond commercial success, Rygor continues to invest in its people and the wider industry through initiatives like its Career Hub, which provides free resources for professional development and promotes diversity and inclusion. This accolade also comes off the back of Rygor’s launch of its Women in Automotive Journal earlier this week, an initiative designed to inspire and empower women and girls to pursue rewarding careers in the automotive sector. The journal shares candid stories from women across the industry, highlighting their achievements and encouraging greater representation in automotive careers.
John Keogh, Rygor managing director, said: “This award is a fantastic achievement for the entire team. It demonstrates our relentless focus on delivering excellence for our customers while fostering a culture where our people can thrive. This is one of the reasons it was so important to us as a business that we gave some of team the opportunity to attend these awards to represent the company, because after all, our team is at the heart of all we do and is crucial to our success. We’re proud to lead the way, and this recognition motivates us to keep raising the bar.”
Rygor Group is a multi-award-winning dealer group, recognised for its customer-centric approach and strong team culture. Previous accolades in 2025 include Employer of the Year, Commitment to Internal Communications, Best New Dealership for its Heathrow Passenger Car site (franchise) and Great Place to Work, all reinforcing its reputation as a trusted leader in the automotive sector.