Just hours after the prestigious Oscars were handed out in Hollywood, one of the biggest awards ceremonies for car manufacturers took place 6,000 miles away in Geneva – revealing the 2018 European Car of the Year.
For the first time in its history, the gong went to Volvo for its compact and very classy XC40, which was voted ahead of six other nominees up for the prize by 60 motoring journalists from 23 countries, including the UK.
The British-designed XC40 received 325 votes, outscoring the 242 votes for runner-up the Seat Ibiza and third-placed BMW 5 Series, with 226 votes.
The announcement was made in Geneva ahead of the motor show kicking off tomorrow (Tuesday).
In a Eurovision-style tallying of points, a big screen cut to the representatives from each of the voting nations who revealed their favourites, with the six nominees made up by the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Audi A8, BMW 5 Series, Citroen C3 Aircross, Kia Stinger, Seat Ibiza and Volvo’s eventual winner.
Despite picking up the European Car of the Year award for the first time, this isn’t first trophy given to the Swedish brand this year.
The XC40 already pocketed the 2018 What Car? of the Year award in January, followed by the XC60 being given the honour of UK Car of the Year a matter of weeks later.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the largest of it’s SUV range – the XC90 – won North American Truck of the Year, while the XC60 also took the award for Utility of the Year at the same ceremony.
Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, said winning the award was ‘perfect timing’ for the Swedish car maker, which is now owned by Chinese manufacturing group Geely.
While the larger XC60 and XC90 have been going great guns for years, the compact SUV market is becoming one of the most fiercely fought sectors on the continent.
It will hope the double award for the XC40 – priced from £27,905 to £40,355 – will see it favoured over other small SUVs on the market.
‘Volvo now has three globally available SUVs in its range for the first time,’ Samuelsson added.
‘The XC40 will be a strong contributor to further growth, taking us into a new and fast-growing small SUV segment.’
The new model is already proving popular, with early orders surpassing the 20,000 mark with buyers in Europe and the US already placing deposits.
The XC40 will also be sold in China – the world’s biggest car market – where demand is expected to be strong.
Last year, Volvo announced its commitment to electrify all if its cars launched from 2019.
That means a hybrid and pure electric version of the XC40 is due later in its cycle, with other electrified models also set to use the same platform underpinning the award-winning vehicle.
‘We have a clear strategy for growth and we are committed to leading in automotive safety, connectivity services and electrification,’ added Samuelsson.
‘The XC40 reflects that commitment, and looking at the response from our customers and from the COTY jury here today, we are on the right track.’
