Volt wins European Car of the Year

The range-extender hybrid – in Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera form -- won with a convincing victory over the Volkswagen Up and Ford Focus.

It was named as champion at the Geneva motor show, following its victories last year in the World Green Car of the Year contest and the North American Car of the Year award and despite recent safety questions, poor sales and a production shutdown in the USA.

The Europe COTY is decided by 59 judges from 23 countries and the Volt, which wears a Chevrolet badge also carries Opel Ampera badges in some countries, finished on top of a field of 35 contenders.

Its winning margin was a 330-281 whitewash of the Up, with the Focus gaining 256 points. Each of the judges has 25 points to allocate among seven finalists and the other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).

"Our car demonstrates that electric driving can be fun and reliable without ever compromising the owners' lifestyle," says Susan Docherty, presient of Chevrolet Europe.

The Geneva show is a major event for car awards, with the three finalists in each of the 2012 World Car of the Year categories also revealed.

The finalists for the overall World COTY crown are the Up, the Porsche 911 and the latest BMW 3 Series, while the 911, Lamborghini Aventador and McLaren MP4-12C will compete for World Performance COTY.

The World COTY contenders were culled from an initial field of 34 new vehicles from around the world and the winners in all categories - including awards for design and green motoring - will be declared at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, April 5.