European Car of the Year

Automobile award

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Car of the Year

Formation| 1964
Website| www.caroftheyear.org

The European Car of the Year (ECOTY) award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are Auto (Italy), Autocar (United Kingdom), 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. There are no categories or class winners — the stated objective is to find a "single, decisive winner" among all competing cars. The 2024 ECOTY was announced on 26 February 2024 in Geneva the winner being the Renault Scenic E-Tech.[2]

## Current rules

[edit]

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.[3]

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 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, 2006), Volkswagen Golf (1992, 2013), Opel/Vauxhall Astra (1985, 2016), Toyota Yaris (2000, 2021) and Renault Scénic (1997, 2024) 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.[4][5]

## Current jury

[edit]

From 2024, the Car of The Year jury contains 60 journalists from 23 countries: six each from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain, three from Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, two from Belgium, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and one each from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, Turkey and Romania.

In August 2024, it was announced that after almost 20 years, Romania once again has a member in the Car of The Year jury, Florin Micu, general editor of the Auto Expert, Auto Motor și Sport and Flote Auto magazines.[6]

## Result

[edit]

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Renault COO Gilles Le Borgne receiving the Car of the Year Award 2024 for the Renault Scénic

British carmakers produced the first two winners of the award. The Rover 2000 saloon was the inaugural winner in 1964 while the Austin 1800 was victorious in 1965. The Rover won over another British contender, the rear-engine Hillman Imp.

The Renault 16 was the world's first production hatchback car [disputed - discuss] and won the award for 1966, having been launched at the beginning of 1965. A year later, the award went to the Fiat 124, which won more than twice as many as voted as its nearest competitor, the BMW 1600. Fiat missed out the following year, however, when its 125 was pipped to the award by the revolutionary new NSU Ro80, one of the first production cars to feature a rotary engine.

Peugeot claimed the accolade for the first time with the 1969 award, which was won by its 504 saloon, a large family car which offered a high standard of interior comfort and build quality. The Fiat 128 was the next winner of the award, while a year later the innovative new Citroën GS family saloon won the award.

Fiat became the first manufacturer to win the award for a third time when its 127 supermini won the 1972 title. The next winner of the award was the Audi 80, and the 1974 award went to the Mercedes-Benz 450SE luxury saloon.

Despite financial problems which led to its takeover by Peugeot that year, Citroën won the accolade in 1975 with its flagship CX saloon, which fought off a strong challenge from the highly acclaimed Volkswagen Golf. Then came Chrysler Europe's first winner of the award, the contemporary Simca 1307/1308 (Chrysler Alpine in the United Kingdom). Despite all the strife which troubled British Leyland throughout the 1970s, the state-owned carmaker achieved recognition for 1977 when its Rover 3500 executive car won the award. This was the last time a British marque would win the contest (discounting the Vauxhall models which were badge engineered Opels) – until the Jaguar I-Pace took the crown in 2019.

Sports cars have traditionally accounted for only a tiny percentage of car sales throughout Europe, but the European Car of the Year accolade was won by one for 1978, when the Porsche 928 sealed the award in the face of competition from the BMW 7 Series and Ford Granada.

Just before the sale of its European division to Peugeot, Chrysler achieved a success second in the contest with its Horizon, which won the 1979 award ahead of one of its main rivals, Fiat Ritmo/Strada. Lancia finally achieved recognition a year later when its stylish new Delta hatchback was voted European Car of the Year.

Ford finally achieved success in the contest when the Escort MkIII, the first of that model line to feature front-wheel drive or a hatchback, sealed the award for 1981, fighting off competition from British Leyland's crucial Austin Metro supermini and the Fiat Panda. A year later, the accolade was perhaps surprisingly[according to whom?] won by the Renault 9, which managed to finish ahead of the more widely well regarded Opel Ascona C and the MK2 Volkswagen Polo. The 1983 award was won by the Audi 100, which narrowly finished ahead of the slightly smaller and similarly aerodynamic Ford Sierra.

The 1984 award saw two new superminis finish well ahead of the nearest contenders. The Fiat Uno was Fiat's fourth success in the history of the award, finishing slightly ahead of the Peugeot 205. A year later, General Motors finally achieved recognition when its latest version of the Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra sealed it. Ford achieved a second victory in the 1986 contest with its new Scorpio/Granada flagship Which unsuccessful in the American market. General Motors made it two victories in three years when its own flagship model, the Opel Omega/Vauxhall Carlton, won the award for 1987.

19 years after the 504 gave Peugeot its first European Car of the Year, the French carmaker finally enjoyed its second triumph in the competition when its mid-range 405 saloon won the 1988 award by a wide margin. A year later, Fiat became the first manufacturer to win the award five times when its ground-breaking new Tipo achieved victory.

Citroën's new XM flagship model won the award for 1990, with its French rival Renault scoring success a year later with the new Clio supermini, which signalled the end for the iconic R5. With the award now nearly 30 years old, Volkswagen finally achieved recognition in 1992 when its MK3 Golf won the award, finishing ahead of two of its most important competitors – the Vauxhall/Opel Astra and Citroën ZX.

A non-European brand – with a British-built product – won the award for the first time for 1993, when the Nissan Micra earned top marks ahead of the Fiat Cinquecento (a car which helped the popularity of city cars in Europe to soar over the next few years) and Renault's new flagship, the Safrane.

Ford achieved a third success in the competition with its Mondeo, successor to the Sierra, winning the award for 1994. Fiat increased its number of victories in the contest to six, when its new Punto supermini won the award for 1995, just as its Uno and 127 ancestors had done many years earlier. Fiat made it seven victories a year later when its Bravo/Brava range pipped the stylish Peugeot 406 to the honour.

Renault's innovative compact MPV, the Scénic, won the ECOTY And Japan Import Car of the Year for 1997, while The Fiat subsidiary Alfa Romeo won the next year's award for the first time with its 156 mid-range sports saloon.

Ford achieved a fourth success in the contest when its boldly-styled Focus won the 1999 award, fighting off competition from the latest Vauxhall/Opel Astra as well as Peugeot's stylish 206 supermini. A year later, a Japanese manufacturer – this time with a Japanese-built product – won the award when the Toyota Yaris Hatchback and Yaris Verso Mini MPV earned top marks in Car of the Year Japan and ECOTY ahead of the boldly-styled Fiat Multipla and the practical Vauxhall/Opel Zafira compact MPV.

Alfa Romeo's modern revival continued when its stylish 147 won the award for 2001, with the next winner being the Peugeot 307. It was another French success for 2003, when the second generation Renault Megane was the winner.

Fiat achieved its eighth success in the contest when its all-new Panda won the 2004 award. Toyota made it two victories from six years when its radical Prius hybrid won the 2005 award. The Renault Clio became the first model to win the award twice when the third generation of the popular supermini won it for 2006, having previously won in 1991.

Ford's stylish and practical S-MAX won the 2007 award, fighting off a close challenge from the Vauxhall/Opel Corsa, earlier versions of which had been largely overlooked by the contest's judges.

Fiat made in nine victories in the contest when it won the 2008 award with the 500 model, a retro-styled take on its iconic small car which had first been launched 50 years earlier. The next award went to a more traditional and mainstream offering, when Vauxhall/Opel won the award for only the third time with its Insignia.

Volkswagen's Polo supermini had been around in several forms since its launch in the mid 1970s, but the all-new version launched in 2009 was the first generation of Polo to win this award, and only the second Volkswagen-badged car ever to win it.

Then came two years of success for electric-powered cars, with the British-built Nissan Leaf and United States-built (Opel) Vauxhall Ampera/Chevrolet Volt winning the 2011 and 2012 award respectively.

The Volkswagen Golf (having previously won in 1992) then joined the Renault Clio with the distinction of two wins in the contest when the MK7 version won the 2013 award. One of the Golf's key rivals, the Peugeot 308, was the next winner. In 2015, was awarded the Volkswagen Passat. In 2016, the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, another key rival to the Golf, became the third automobile to win the award twice, having previously won in 1985.

In 2017 Peugeot won with the fifth time with the crossover 3008.

The 2018 winner announced on 5 March is for a Swedish manufacturer for the first time in the history of the competition, with the Volvo XC40 winning.

European Car of the Year

Year  | Winner  | Points  | Second place  | Points  | Third place  | Points
1964  | Rover 2000 | 76  | Mercedes 600 | 64  | Hillman Imp | 31
1965  | Austin 1800 | 78  | Autobianchi Primula | 51  | Ford Mustang | 18
1966  | Renault 16 | 98  | Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow | 81  | Oldsmobile Toronado | 59
1967  | Fiat 124 | 144  | BMW 1600 | 69  | Jensen FF | 61
1968  | NSU Ro 80 | 197  | Fiat 125 | 133  | Simca 1100 | 94
1969  | Peugeot 504 | 119  | BMW 2500/2800 | 77  | Alfa Romeo 1750 | 76
1970  | Fiat 128 | 235  | Autobianchi A112 | 96  | Renault 12 | 79
1971  | Citroën GS | 233  | Volkswagen K70 | 121  | Citroën SM | 105
1972  | Fiat 127 | 239  | Renault 15/17 | 107  | Mercedes 350SL | 96
1973  | Audi 80 | 114  | Renault 5 | 109  | Alfa Romeo Alfetta | 95
1974  | Mercedes 450SE | 115  | Fiat X1/9 | 99  | Honda Civic | 90
1975  | Citroën CX | 229  | Volkswagen Golf | 164  | Audi 50 | 136
1976  | Simca 1307-1308 | 192  | BMW 3 Series | 144  | Renault 30 TS | 107
1977  | Rover 3500 | 157  | Audi 100 | 138  | Ford Fiesta | 135
1978  | Porsche 928 | 261  | BMW 7 Series | 231  | Ford Granada | 203
1979  | Simca-Chrysler Horizon | 251  | Fiat Ritmo | 239  | Audi 80 | 181
1980  | Lancia Delta | 369  | Opel Kadett | 301  | Peugeot 505 | 199
1981  | Ford Escort III | 326  | Fiat Panda | 308  | Austin Metro | 255
1982  | Renault 9 | 335  | Opel Ascona | 304  | Volkswagen Polo II | 252
1983  | Audi 100 | 410  | Ford Sierra | 386  | Volvo 760 | 157
1984  | Fiat Uno | 346  | Peugeot 205 | 325  | Volkswagen Golf II | 156
1985  | Opel Kadett
(Vauxhall Astra)  | 326  | Renault 25 | 261  | Lancia Thema | 191
1986  | Ford Scorpio
(Ford Granada)  | 337  | Autobianchi Y10 | 291  | Mercedes-Benz 200-300E | 273
1987  | Opel Omega
(Vauxhall Carlton)  | 275  | Audi 80 | 238  | BMW 7 Series | 175
1988  | Peugeot 405 | 464  | Citroën AX | 252  | Honda Prelude | 234
1989  | Fiat Tipo | 356  | Opel Vectra | 261  | Volkswagen Passat | 194
1990  | Citroën XM | 390  | Mercedes-Benz SL | 215  | Ford Fiesta | 214
1991  | Renault Clio | 312  | Nissan Primera | 258  | Opel Calibra | 183
1992  | Volkswagen Golf[7] | 276  | Opel/Vauxhall Astra[broken anchor] | 231  | Citroën ZX | 213
1993  | Nissan Micra | 338  | Fiat Cinquecento | 304  | Renault Safrane | 244
1994  | Ford Mondeo | 290  | Citroën Xantia | 264  | Mercedes-Benz C | 192
1995  | Fiat Punto | 370  | Volkswagen Polo | 292  | Opel/Vauxhall Omega | 272
1996  | Fiat Bravo/Brava | 378  | Peugeot 406 | 363  | Audi A4 | 246
1997  | Renault Mégane Scénic | 405  | Ford Ka | 293  | Volkswagen Passat | 248
1998  | Alfa Romeo 156 | 454  | Volkswagen Golf | 266  | Audi A6 | 265
1999  | Ford Focus | 444  | Opel Astra[broken anchor] | 269  | Peugeot 206 | 248
2000  | Toyota Yaris/Yaris Verso | 344  | Fiat Multipla | 325  | Opel Zafira | 265

* Since 2001

Year  | Car  | Points

|
|

2001
| Alfa Romeo 147 | 238
| Ford Mondeo | 237
| Toyota Prius | 229
| Audi A2 | 184
| Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 164
| Vauxhall Corsa | 133
| Volvo S60 | 92
2002 |
| Peugeot 307 | 286
| Renault Laguna | 244
| Fiat Stilo | 243
| Mini One | 213
| Honda Civic | 174
| Citroën C5 | 119
| Jaguar X-Type | 86
2003 |
| Renault Mégane | 322
| Mazda 6 | 302
| Citroën C3 | 214
| Honda Jazz | 167
| Ford Fiesta | 161
| Vauxhall Vectra | 151
| Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 133
2004
| Fiat Panda | 281
| Mazda 3 | 241
| Volkswagen Golf | 241
| Toyota Avensis | 219
| Vauxhall Meriva | 213
| BMW 5 Series | 144
| Nissan Micra | 111
2005
| Toyota Prius | 406
| Citroën C4 | 267
| Ford Focus | 228
| Vauxhall Astra | 180
| Renault Modus | 151
| Peugeot 407 | 135
| BMW 1 Series | 83
2006
| Renault Clio | 256
| Volkswagen Passat | 251
| Alfa Romeo 159 | 212
| BMW 3 Series | 203
| Mazda 5 | 198
| Citroën C1/Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo | 187
| Toyota Yaris | 143
2007
| Ford S-Max | 235
| Vauxhall Corsa | 233
| Citroën C4 Picasso | 222
| Škoda Roomster | 189
| Honda Civic | 148
| Peugeot 207 | 144
| Volvo C30 | 141
2008
| Fiat 500 | 385
| Mazda2 | 325
| Ford Mondeo | 202
| Kia Ceed | 166
| Nissan Qashqai | 147
| Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 128
| Peugeot 308 | 91
2009
| Vauxhall Insignia | 321
| Ford Fiesta | 320
| Volkswagen Golf | 223
| Citroën C5 | 198
| Alfa Romeo MiTo | 148
| Škoda Superb | 144
| Renault Mégane | 121
2010
| Volkswagen Polo | 347
| Toyota iQ | 337
| Vauxhall Astra | 221
| Škoda Yeti | 158
| Mercedes-Benz E-Class | 155
| Peugeot 3008 | 144
| Citroën C3 Picasso | 113
2011
| Nissan Leaf | 257
| Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 248
| Vauxhall Meriva | 244
| Ford C-Max | 224
|  Citroën DS3 | 175
| Volvo S60 | 145
| Citroen C4 | 132
2012
| Chevrolet Volt/Vauxhall Ampera | 330
| Volkswagen up!/Skoda Citigo | 281
| Ford Focus | 256
| Range Rover Evoque | 186
| Fiat Panda | 156
| Citroën DS5 | 144
| Toyota Yaris | 122
2013
| Volkswagen Golf[7] | 414
| Toyota GT-86/Subaru BRZ | 202
| Volvo V40 | 189
| Ford B-Max | 148
| Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 138
| Renault Clio | 128
| Peugeot 208 | 120
2014
| Peugeot 308 | 307
| BMW i3 | 223
| Tesla Model S | 216
| Citroën C4 Picasso | 182
| Mazda3 | 180
| Škoda Octavia | 172
| Mercedes-Benz S-Class | 170
2015
| Volkswagen Passat | 340
| Citroën C4 Cactus | 248
| Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 221
| Ford Mondeo | 203
| Nissan Qashqai | 160
| BMW 2 Series Active Tourer | 154
| Renault Twingo | 124
2016
| Vauxhall Astra | 312
| Volvo XC90 | 294
| Mazda MX-5 | 202
| Audi A4 | 189
| Jaguar XE | 163
| Škoda Superb | 147
| BMW 7 Series | 143
2017
| Peugeot 3008 | 319
| Alfa Romeo Giulia | 296
| Mercedes E-Class | 197
| Volvo S90 | 172
| Citroën C3 | 166
| Toyota C-HR | 165
| Nissan Micra | 135
2018
| Volvo XC40 | 325
| Seat Ibiza | 242
| BMW 5 Series | 226
| Ford Fiesta | 204
| Citroën C3 Aircross | 171
| Audi A8 | 169
| Alfa Romeo Stelvio | 163
2019
| Jaguar I-Pace | 250
| Alpine A110 | 250
| Kia Ceed | 247
| Ford Focus | 235
| Citroën C5 Aircross | 210
| Peugeot 508 | 192
| Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 116
2020
| Peugeot 208 | 281
| Tesla Model 3 | 242
| Porsche Taycan | 222
| Renault Clio | 211
| Ford Puma | 209
| Toyota Corolla | 152
| BMW 1 Series | 133
2021
| Toyota Yaris | 266
| Fiat 500 | 240
| Cupra Formentor | 239
| Volkswagen ID.3 | 224
| Škoda Octavia | 199
| Land Rover Defender | 164
| Citroën C4 | 143
2022 |
| Kia EV6 | 279
| Renault Mégane E-Tech | 265
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 261
| Peugeot 308 | 191
| Škoda Enyaq iV | 185
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 150
| Cupra Born | 144
2023 |
| Jeep Avenger | 328
| Volkswagen ID. Buzz | 241
| Nissan Ariya | 211
| Kia Niro | 200
| Renault Austral | 163
| Peugeot 408 | 149
| Subaru Solterra/Toyota bZ4X | 133
2024 |
| Renault Scenic E-Tech | 329
| BMW 5 Series | 308
| Peugeot 3008 | 197
| Kia EV9 | 190
| Volvo EX30 | 168
| BYD Seal | 131
| Toyota CH-R | 127

* The I-Pace received 18 first-place votes, compared to 16 for the A110.

## See also

[edit]

* List of motor vehicle awards
* Car of the Year for other similar awards in different countries and by various magazine and institutions.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Organizing magazines". Car of the Year. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
2. ^ Mark Tisshaw and Charlie Martin (26 February 2024). "Renault Scenic E-Tech wins Car of the Year 2024". Autocar.
3. ^ "What makes a Car of the Year?". caroftheyear.org. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
4. ^ Thibaut, Kyle (2011-01-25). "Nissan Leaf Gets European Car Of The Year, First Ever For An Electric Car". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2011-02-02.
5. ^ "Nissan Leaf takes European Car of the Year". The Independent. 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
6. ^ "RomÃ¢nia are din nou un membru Ã®n Juriul "Car of the Year"". 20 August 2024.
7. ^ a b "Car of the Year twice - 1992 & 2013". Car manufacturer. Volkswagen. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website