European Car of the Year
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The European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto (Italy), Autocar (UK), Autopista (Spain), Autovisie (Netherlands), L'Automobile Magazine (France), Stern (Germany) and Vi Bilägare (Sweden).[1]
The voting jury consists of motoring journalists from publications throughout Europe. Representation from each country is based on the size of the country's car market and car manufacturing industry. The jury for 2012 consisted of 59 members from 23 countries.
There are no categories or class winners — the stated objective is to find a "single, decisive winner" among all competing cars.
The 2014 ECOTY was announced on March 3, 2014, at the Geneva Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, the winner being the Peugeot 308.
Current rules
Eligible cars are new models released in the twelve months prior to the award. The award is not restricted to European cars, but nominees must be available in at least five European countries, and have expected sales of 5,000 a year.
Nominees are judged on the following criteria: design, comfort, safety, economy, handling, performance, functionality, environmental requirements, driver satisfaction and price. Technical innovation and value for money are also important factors.[2]
A shortlist of seven cars is selected by a simple vote. For the final round of voting, each jury member has 25 points to distribute among the finalists. The points must be distributed to at least five cars, with no more than ten to any one car, and no joint top marks. The voting is open, and each jury member provides published justification for their vote distribution.
Under these rules, the decisiveness of the victory has varied greatly. For example, in 1988, the Peugeot 405 won by 212 points, the biggest gap in the history of the European Car of the Year competition; such feat was repeated in 2013, as the Mk VII Volkswagen Golf won by the same points gap in 2013. In 2010 the Volkswagen Polo won by a mere 10 points, received maximum points from twenty-five jurors, and was the top choice of 59.
The Renault Clio (1991 and 2006) and Volkswagen Golf (1992 and 2013) are the only cars to have won the award more than once. In 2011 the Nissan Leaf was the first electrically powered vehicle to be awarded Car of the Year.
Results
Winners sorted by manufacturer | |||
Manufacturer | Country | Wins | Winning Cars |
---|---|---|---|
Fiat | Italy | 9 | 124 (1967); 128 (1970); 127 (1972); Uno (1984); Tipo (1989); Punto (1995); Bravo/Brava (1996); Panda (2004); 500 (2008) |
Renault | France | 6 | 16 (1966); 9 (1982); Clio (1991); Scénic (1997); Mégane (2003); Clio (2006) |
Ford | United States | 5 | Escort (1981); Scorpio (1986); Mondeo (1994); Focus (1999); S-Max (2007) |
Opel | Germany | 4 | Kadett (1985); Omega (1987); Insignia (2009); Ampera (2012) |
Peugeot | France | 4 | 504 (1969); 405 (1988); 307 (2002); 308 (2014) |
Volkswagen | Germany | 4 | Golf (1992); Polo (2010); Golf (2013);[7] Passat (2015) |
Citroën | France | 3 | GS (1971); CX (1975); XM (1990) |
Alfa Romeo | Italy | 2 | 156 (1998); 147 (2001) |
Audi | Germany | 2 | 80 (1973); 100 (1983) |
Chrysler Simca |
United States France |
2 | 1307-1308 (1976); Simca-Chrysler Horizon (1979) |
Nissan | Japan | 2 | Micra (1993); Leaf (2011) |
Rover | United Kingdom | 2 | P6 (1964); SD1 (1977) |
Toyota | Japan | 2 | Yaris (2000); Prius (2005) |
Austin | United Kingdom | 1 | 1800 (1965) |
Chevrolet | United States | 1 | Chevrolet Volt (2012) joint candidate with Opel/Vauxhall Ampera[10] |
Lancia | Italy | 1 | Delta (1980) |
Mercedes-Benz | Germany | 1 | S-Class (1974) |
NSU | Germany | 1 | Ro 80 (1968) |
Porsche | Germany | 1 | 928 (1978) |
See also
- Car of the Year for other similar awards in different countries and by various magazine and institutions.
References
- ↑ "Organizing magazines". Car of the Year. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ↑ "What makes a Car of the Year?". caroftheyear.org. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Car of the Year twice - 1992 & 2013". Car manufacturer. Volkswagen. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
- ↑ "2006: Renault Clio". Car of the year. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
- ↑ "C3 Picasso European Car of the Year nomination 2010". European Car of the Year competition. European Car of the Year. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ↑ English, Andrew (2010-11-29). "Nissan Leaf wins Car of the Year". telegraph.co.uk (London). Retrieved 2010-11-29.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Car of the Year 2013: VW Golf does it again". caroftheyear.org. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ↑ "Peugeot’s 308 wins 2014 Car of the Year". Daily Telegraph. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
- ↑ "Car of the Year 2015: Volkswagen Passat a confirmed favourite". Car of the Year. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Ampera/Volt sweeps on Car of the Year 2012". Car of the Year. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2015.