Hyundai Elantra wins “AUTOBEST 2012”
Chevrolet Europe elected “COMPANYBEST 2011”
Hyundai Elantra was voted “AUTOBEST 2012”. With a total of 839 points, the winner overtook Ford Focus – no. 2 with 758 points and Chevrolet Aveo coming third, with a total of 744 points, very close to no. 2!. Fiat Panda – who won the Autobest award for the previous generation seven years ago, came on 4th with 668 points, followed by Toyota Yaris with 591 points. No less than 10 members of the Jury voted Elantra as the winner, other 3 gave the first place to Focus and the rest of no. 1 spot been shared by Aveo and Panda. (for detailed results, see Final Ranking in Autobest 2012 final ranking )
“Elantra is a great expression of the “New Thinking. New possibilities” strategy of Hyundai Motor. The new Elantra is applying this new modern premium approach for the average customer in our region, but also in Europe. The new Elantra is great to drive, good looking, high perceived interior quality and impressive interior space and trunk. ”The” opportunity in terms of pricing. Simply the best buy car of Europe nowadays. ”, Mr. Ilia Seliktar, AUTOBEST President, stated.
Chevrolet Europe was voted “COMPANYBEST 2011”. “There is no better moment to declare Chevrolet Europe our “COMPANYBEST” winner. The centennial of this legendary brand remind us how important is for the motoring landscape. To be the best sold brand in the automobile history is something fabulous. The performance of Chevrolet Europe is outstanding. We saw not just a unprecedented growth of sales, but also a giant leap in terms of image. Here we prize also the Wayne Brannon leadership in all these years.” Ilia Seliktar declared.
In electing the AUTOBEST car winner, the Jury made its decision taking into consideration 13 criteria, each of them counting a specific number of points that reflect a different importance in the final vote of each car. The price, with 60 points out of a total of 240 available to be distributed among the finalists, is the most important. Other sensitive issues for the region, like distribution network, service and spare parts availability, consumption, versatility and boot capacity, count for 20 points each. All of these specific criteria for the customers in emerging countries totalize more than a half of the total number of points. Other issues, common for all European countries, like new technologies, handling, dynamics, environmental friendly, are less important. The design, evaluated with 30 points maximum, becomes more and more important for the clients in emerging countries.
The 11th edition of AUTOBEST AWARDS FESTIVITY will take place at the beginning of next year in a location to be announced later on. Following the tradition, AUTOBEST International Jury grants the awards in different country every year. Last year, the awards festivity was held in Bucharest, Romania.
AUTOBEST Jury thanks the readers from the region for encouraging the project and the PR responsible in the automotive industry for providing all the support in organizing meetings and drive tests of the new products.
