Hyundai Del Rio named 2026 Dealer of the Year by Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Del Rio says it has been named the 2026 Hyundai Dealer of the Year by Hyundai Motor Company, putting the Del Rio showroom among the brand’s Top 100 dealers worldwide and one of only 23 Hyundai dealerships in the United States to earn the distinction this year. The recognition matters locally because Hyundai’s own standards go beyond sales volume and look at customer satisfaction, ownership experience, service retention, parts and operations, facility standards and overall dealership performance.

For Val Verde County drivers, the key question is not the plaque on the wall but what changes on the ground. Based on the criteria Hyundai uses, the award suggests the dealership has been judged on the full cycle of ownership, from the sale itself to the years of maintenance that follow. But the honor does not, by itself, announce shorter service waits, lower prices, better financing terms or a larger inventory for Del Rio shoppers.

Grant Bibb, Hyundai Del Rio’s general manager, said the recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of the staff and thanked customers throughout Del Rio and South Texas for their trust. That customer base is not small. Del Rio’s population was 34,673 in the 2020 Census, and Val Verde County had 47,586 residents, making the dealership a central retail stop for a much wider stretch of South Texas than the city limits alone suggest.

The Khoury Group, which owns Hyundai Del Rio, says the dealership has served Del Rio and surrounding communities since 1996. Founded by Nick Khoury, the company says it now operates 17 dealerships across Texas and carries 11 brands, including Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Jeep, Ram, Toyota, Mazda and Mitsubishi. Its locations stretch from Del Rio to Corpus Christi, Dumas, Fort Stockton, Mineral Wells, Odessa, Wharton, Amarillo, Brady and East Bernard.

That broader footprint is part of why the recognition lands as a business story as much as a badge of honor. In a county where Laughlin Air Force Base has anchored the economy for decades, local retail operations still matter for jobs, tax base and day-to-day service access. Laughlin, established in 1941 and home to the 47th Flying Training Wing, has trained more than 15,000 pilots and contributed at least $1.7 billion to the Texas economy in 2023. Against that backdrop, Hyundai Del Rio’s award signals strength for one local business, but the immediate consumer payoff remains the same test: whether buyers and owners see faster service, steadier parts availability and a better experience at the lot.