Susan Docherty, President and Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe and Karl-Friedrich Stracke, CEO of Opel/Vauxhall, (right) accept the trophy from Hakan Matson of the "Car of the Year" jury.
The Opel Ampera and the Chevrolet Volt electric cars won the European “Car of the Year 2012” award voted by a panel of 59 judges. The Ampera/Volt 330 points against the Volkswagen Up with 281 and Ford Focus with 256.
While awards are good for promotional purposes, journalists are notoriously out of touch with real car buying trends. GM is now preparing to close its Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant for five weeks where the Volt and its Ampera identical twin are assembled because of slow sales – 1,626 Volts so far this in 2011.
Chevrolet sales executives are hoping that Volt sales will increase now that it is approved for California HOV lanes and tax credits as a plug-in hybrid. (See Chevrolet Volt EVs on Way to California. Volts now Qualify For HOV Lanes and a $1,500 State Taxpayer Subsidy) The final selection announced at the Geneva International Motor Show. Opel/Vauxhall CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke and Chevrolet President and Managing Director for Europe Susan Docherty received the award from Car of the Year panel Hakan Matson.
The Ampera and the Volt emerged as the joint overall winner in a field of seven finalists. Initially, 35 recently launched vehicles entered the contest. The criteria applied by the judges are based on attributes such as design, comfort, performance and innovative technologies as well as efficiency – areas where the Ampera and the Volt excel.
The Volt and the Ampera have won many international awards including the “World Green Car of the Year 2011” and the “North American Car of the Year 2011” award. Volt and Ampera also received the maximum 5-star Euro NCAP award.
GM Motors has been losing billions of dollars on its Opel subsidiary for more than a decade, recording a $700 million loss in 2011 even as it posted a record $9.1 billion dollar profit. The European auto market is heading for its fifth straight year of decline with no prospects of further government aid or replacement car programs as the Eurozone crisis continues.
