CAMBODIAN car salesman Thy Channimul beat 14 contestants from around the Asia-Pacific region to finish second in a Ford challenge contest.

The Phnom Penh salesman had to compete against other regional competitors in a challenge to test staff customer-service skills during the contest, held in Kuala Lumpur.

The winner, Myeong Hun Kim, from Sunin Motors, in Korea, took home US$2,000 and will now represent the region in Ford’s global competition in Detroit.

The 2011 Asia Pacific Vehicle Walk-Around Challenge was designed to foster skills and professional service among the company’s sales staff.

“We are all very proud of Chann-imul Thy. His dedicated and professional efforts have helped develop Ford into a strong business in Cambodia,” Thomas Rosner, head of dealer operations at RMA Automotive Cambodia, said.

“Thy has a natural talent for presenting vehicles to customers in a knowledgeable, yet relaxed and friendly way, which makes him very popular among buyers who seek assistance in identifying their vehicle needs,” Rosner said.

Thy Channimul won his place by competing against representatives from Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, Guam, Laos, Singapore, South Korea, Tahiti, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

“Congratulations to Thy Chann-imul for snatching second place in the competition to find the best sales consultant in the Ford E&G Asia-Pacific region,” Seng Voeung, head of RMA Cambodia’s Ford operations, said.

“This shows that RMA Cambodia’s Ford sales consultants are a team of highly qualified, professional and talented people.”