2012 European Car of the Year is Opel Ampera

The Chevrolet Volt may not be as big a sales success as GM would have hoped with the company even recently announcing an extended closure of its plant in North America where the car is manufactured. But the Volt is just not done with the awards yet, it seems. As if the long list of awards and titles that it garnered since its introduction an year ago isn't enough, the Volt's European cousin was recently crowned the 2012 European Car of the Year. Yes, the badge-engineered Opel Ampera came out on top this year beating out the other finalists ranging from the diminutive Volkswagen Up! to the luxurious Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. The jury adjudged the Volt/Ampera as a mature product, after years of development and perfectioning by General Motors, and the first example of an electric vehicle with extended range. They also commented that other manufacturers will soon come along this path with their own extended range gasoline-electric hybrid. 

As always, 7 finalists were chosen for the title from the initial list of 35 cars that were launched in 2011. The candidates included the very best of automotive industry such as Audi A6, BMW 6 Series, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Lexus GS and even the Porsche 911, which only makes the Ampera's achievement more note-worthy. With the Chevrolet Volt not setting the sales charts on fire in USA, we hope that this all-important victory gives a fillip to Opel Ampera's chances in Europe. This is the second victory for Opel in 4 years as the Insignia took the European Car of the Year title in 2009.

2012 ECOTY RESULTS:

1. Opel Ampera / Chevrolet Volt - 330
2. Volkswagen Up! - 281
3. Ford Focus - 256
4. Land Rover Range Rover Evoque - 186
5. Fiat Panda - 156
6. Citroen DS5 - 144
7. Toyota Yaris - 122

PREVIOUS ECOTY WINNERS:

* 2011 Nissan Leaf
* 2010 Volkswagen Polo
* 2009 Opel/Vauxhall Insignia
* 2008 Fiat 500
* 2007 Ford S-Max

The European Car of the Year title is among the most respected in the industry, judged by a panel of 59 senior motoring journalists representing 23 countries across Europe. The seven organizers of European Car of the Year are prominent automotive publications such as Auto(Italy), Autocar(UK), Autopista(Spain), Autovisie(Holland), L'Automobile Magazine(France), Stern(Germany) and Vi Bilagare(Sweden).