Suzuki Motor Corporation’s executive general manager for motorcycle operations, Takashi Ise, made a special trip from Japan to attend Suzuki GB’s annual dealer conference, which took place at the Belfry Hotel and Resort in Sutton Coldfield last week.

Ise, who flew to the UK the evening before the conference began, before heading back to the airport upon the event’s completion for an early morning return flight to Japan, was joined by his colleague Akira Kyuji, Suzuki Motor Corporation’s division manager for motorcycle marketing.

The attendance by senior members from SMC gave Suzuki’s UK dealer network an insight into the future of Suzuki’s European and global strategies, with a focus on pricing and increased market share, as well as updates on new model arrivals in 2026 and beyond. It also provided dealers with the opportunity to deliver their thoughts and feedback directly to factory representatives. During the conference, Suzuki GB’s senior management team outlined the details and activities from a UK-market perspective.

After the conference, a black-tie dinner was held, before the handing out of numerous awards, including a combined total of 170 years’ worth of long service awards. Suzuki GB’s regional account managers were also responsible for nominating Suzuki Specialists in their area for recognition, which considered the levels of dedication and commitment from individual members of the network.

The full list of recipients is below:

Partnership awards
60 Years of Partnership – Single Tracker Motorcycles
50 Years of Partnership – St. Neots Motorcycles
50 Years of Partnership  – B&B Motorcycles
10 Years of Partnership – R&C Motorcycles

Dealership award winners

Dealer of the Year 2025 – Haslemere Motorcycles
Sales Dealer of the Year 2025 – Cupar Motorcycles
Aftersales Dealer of the Year 2025 – St. Neots Motorcycles
Customer Experience Dealer of the Year 2025 – Castledine Motorcycles
Serious.Fun Award 2025 – For Contribution to Racing  – Powerslide Motorcycles
Suzuki Insurance Services Dealer of the Year 2025 – Cupar Motorcycles
Suzuki Financial Services Dealer of the Year 2025 – Powerslide Motorcycles

Suzuki Specialist awards
2025 Suzuki Specialist of the Year – Midlands – Mark Andrews (Sutton Motorcycles)
2025 Suzuki Specialist of the Year – North – Greg Darling (MCS Scotland)
2025 Suzuki Specialist of the Year –South – Luke Pirie (Frasers of Gloucester)

Suzuki GB’s head of motorcycles, Jonathan Martin, said after the conference, “Every year it is great to get together with our dealers to discuss plans, objectives, and strategies for the year ahead, but also to reflect on a job well done and reward the excellence we have within our network. Last year our dealer conference was more of an open forum and discussion, which proved incredibly valuable for us as it gave us a clear insight into what was working well for our dealerships, what was working less well, and the particular areas that they felt needed increased focus and attention. This year, our conference objectives were to demonstrate all that we learned from last year’s event, how we’ve acted on it, and we will continue to deliver what our dealership partners need in 2026.

“As well as the focus on business activity, it is always an incredible privilege to host the annual awards ceremony, especially when it comes to acknowledging those that have worked with Suzuki for half a century or more, and rewarding those that really excel in areas from customer service and insurance to sales and aftersales. This year it was also great to hand over the inaugural Serious.Fun award, which the team at Powerslide are fully deserving of due to their commitment to racing with the 8R last season, and we’re excited to see them contest for a British championship in 2026.

“We have made a special effort to reward a number of individuals within the network. Our Suzuki Specialists all live and breathe the brand, but we have elected to acknowledge those that went above and beyond last year. 

“And, of course, it was brilliant for our dealership partners to be able to engage directly with senior members from the factory, who made a special effort to fly from Japan specifically to join us at this event. For our dealers it was a chance to share with them their experiences on the very front lines of dealing with customers, providing their valuable feedback to SMC, and also to hear from the team in Japan on the future direction of the brand.”