The dust has hardly had time to settle in the trophy cabinet at Hyundai HQ before it’s had to shuffle the gongs and make room for another prestigious prize. The company has just been named as Car Franchise of the Year at the 2010 Motor Trader Awards.

Motor Trader’s Editor Curtis Hutchinson said: “It was an excellent year for Hyundai. The judging panel noted how the brand sold over 57,000 cars in 2009, double what it achieved in 2008.

“Success in 2009 would not have been achieved without attractive and sharply priced cars. This translated into highly profitable dealer network with return on sales nearing three per cent in 2009, three times better than September 2008 at the height of the downturn,” he continued.

Hyundai UK’s managing director, Tony Whitehorn, said: “The past year has been truly momentous. No other volume car maker in history has been able to double its sales in a 12 month period. It’s great that Hyundai’s achievement has been recognised by a well respected publication such as Motor Trader.

“The next year promises to be just as exciting. New product and inventive marketing campaigns will ensure we will continue to grow our market share and attract new customers to the brand.”

It’s not only in sales that Hyundai has ‘done the double’ however – the Motor Trader award comes after another leading industry publication, AM, named the company as its Carmaker of the Year in February.