The 23rd edition of the AUTOBEST Gala Awards was held on May 23rd in the heart of Luxembourg at the prestigious Leweck Resort, a venue famous for its hospitality and heritage, passed down through generations.
The Gala’s atmosphere was electrifying, thanks to the mesmerizing live performance by Authentica, the stage name of Martina Menichetti. This Italian-Luxembourgish singer and multi-instrumentalist blends folk and global traditional music, creating a cultural bridge that has introduced Luxembourg’s rich folk heritage to more than 32 nations present at the event. Her powerful vocals, combined with flutes, keyboards, guitars, and percussion, brought a vibrant energy to the event.
Dan Vardie, Founder and Chairman of AUTOBEST said: `The AUTOBEST Awards Gala 23-rd edition marked several premieres. It was the first time we organise our main event in Luxembourg. The winner of Best Buy Car of Europe, BYD Dolphin is the first Chinese brand and model, designed and manufactured in China. For China this is a historical achievement, been the first Chinese brand to win the top European motoring accolade. Another first, TECHNOBEST prize was going to another Chinese giant, the dominant global leader of battery manufacturing, CATL, been the first time we award a battery producer. We also been lucky to have the legendary David Richards ad the new member of SPORTBEST Hall of Fame. All in all, at AUTOBEST we are all very proud with our Gala in Luxembourg. `
Mr. Dan Vardie, Founder&Chairman of AUTOBEST enters the stage
The supreme European accolade, Best Buy Car of Europe, has been awarded to the 100% electric BYD DOLPHIN. Michael Shu, Managing Director of BYD Europe declared:” It’s a great honor that BYD DOLPHIN is awarded this prestigious award, AUTOBEST Best Buy Car of Europe. On behalf of the BYD team, I’d like to thank the Jury once again for presenting such an important award to DOLPHIN. BYD DOLPHIN is a fun, agile and versatile Large B Hatchback. It is a high quality and intelligent electric car, equipped with advanced technologies, but at a very very good price.”
On stage, receiving the award, Penny Peng, Marketing & PR Director of BYD Europe, said: “The Best Buy Car of Europe award is the result of hard work for over 100,000 BYD R&D engineers. We are so proud that in only just 18 months since launching our brand and 6 NEV models launch in Europe, BYD is widely recognized by the markets, our end customers, and especially all of you here. BYD DOLPHIN is the first model built on the e-Platform 3.0, exclusively designed for pure electric vehicles. Globally 650,000 customers have chosen BYD DOLPHIN, making DOLPHIN the top-selling BEV in its segment.”
BYD DOLPHIN is the BEST BUY CAR OF EUROPE 2024
During the Gala, the AUTOBEST organization announced this year ECOBEST Challenge will take place between June 26th and 28th, 2024, in Vairano, Italy. The ECOBEST Challenge has been certified by Bureau Veritas for the second consecutive year – a global recognition of the genuine, comprehensive, consistent, and innovative methodology employed in testing electric vehicles (EVs) in real traffic conditions and assessing their real-life green credentials in an unbiased manner.
The other prizes that were awarded during the ceremony were:
SPORTBEST 2024: David Richards
Mr. David Richards, Mr. Dan Vardie and the Cyprus AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. Petros Soutzis
“I am, obviously, very grateful for this award. Normally, when you get to a certain stage in your life, when they present you these awards, they presume you are about to retire or that you are going to disappear. Of one thing I want to assure you – I am not doing that just yet. In fact, I have a lot of things to achieve. The first thing we are going to achieve, and win is Dakkar Rally for Dacia next year! You – journalists of AUTOBEST – is down to you to hold all these into account, to be our conscience, to challenge us at all times, to make Motorsport more environmentally friendly, to make us all honest and true in what we do.” declared David Richards on stage
COMPANYBEST 2024: Dr. ing. h. c. F. Porsche AG
Marco Schubert, Vice President Region Europe at Porsche AG , declared “This recognition from key European opinion leaders in the automotive industry confirms that Porsche is on the right track. It is a great appreciation of the passion and spirit of our teams, partners, and customers – the true brand ambassadors, who make Porsche a dream brand. Thank you, AUTOBEST, for acknowledging our journey and the people who drive our success.”
Mr. Venceslas Monzini and the Italy AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. Alessio Viola
ECOBEST 2024: Citroën ë-C3
Mr. Boris Reinmöller and the Serbia AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. Mladen Alvirović
`I am very proud to receive the Ecobest Award for the New Citroën ë-C3. This recognition reaffirms our Brand strategy for electric mobility: New ë-C3 is the first affordable electric car made in Europe. The BEV native Smart car Platform helped us to reach this important target. In addition, New ë-C3 is also comfortable, fully equipped, and, with its new design language and brand signature, highly attractive.” said on stage Boris Reinmöller `– Design Project Manager at Group Stellantis.
MANBEST 2024 Hall of Fame: Denis Le Vot, Executive Vice President and CEO Dacia Brand
“It is an immense honor for me, for the brand, for all the team of Dacia to receive the 2024 MANBEST Award just one year after receiving the COMPANYBEST.I would like to thank you all, the jury members of AUTOBEST and of course, to Dan Vardie, the Chairman for the recognition and the trust that you have been putting in our brand throughout these years. Indeed, Dacia and AUTOBEST share the same quest – it is all about offering affordable mobility to the people in Europe and we are so happy for that particular reason to receive this prize.” stated Denis Le Vot via a video message broadcasted during the Gala.
Mr. Xavier Martinet and the Germany AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. Achim Stahn
Xavier Martinet, SVP, Dacia, Sales & Marketing, present at the Gala received the prize in the name of Denis le Vot: “Even though the teams play a big role in organizing or managing anything, sometimes we have to make a step back and appreciate the work, the vision, the added value that a boss can bring in an organization. I just want to say to Denis le Vot, my boss, that I love working for him. We know the car industry can be tough – we have highs but also low’s as well and the enemy should be outside the company, not inside. With a boss like Denis le Vot, the enemy it’s never inside.”
DESIGNBEST 2024 Hall of Fame: Gilles Vidal, Design Vice President Renault Group
Mr. Gilles Vidal and the Luxembourg AUTOBEST Juror, Mrs. Bianca Hurduc
On stage, Gilles Vidal, Design Vice President Renault Group, declared: “It is an honor, honestly, because this is such a prestigious award. There are a lot of talented designers out there actually. There are more and more many talented people around so, the game is really high in design. We went from car stylists to automotive designers so, the job now is not just about the car aesthetics – it is much broader.”
SMARTBEST 2024: Lotus Hyper OS system
Mr. Serino Angellotti, the Portugal AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. José Caetano and Mr. Frank Klaas
Frank Klaas, Vice President Communications Geely Europe at Geely Auto Technical declared “We strongly support the activities and engagement of the AUTOBEST group. As part of Lotus, we stand for innovation and technology in the world of modern mobility. Having an international group of independent experts like AUTOBEST is important for us and the industry. We highly value the feedback and exchange with these experts from so many European countries!”
Serino Angellotti, Deputy Managing Director, Head of EE and Digital User Experience, Lotus Tech Innovation Centre GmbH, declared: “We are honoured to receive the award for our HyperOS Smart Cabin System. We strongly believe that we are on the right path to ensuring that the drivers and passengers of our Lotus products receive the most immersive, intelligent, and seamless cabin experience, while also guaranteeing the highest level of accessibility in the safest way possible.”
SAFETYBEST 2024: Continental for the Detectable Jacket
Mr. Eric Vincelot , Mr. Niklas Pettersson and the Ireland AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. Dave Humphreys
“Continental continues its committed to ‘Vision Zero’, with zero fatalities, zero injuries, zero crashes. Our vision goes beyond vehicles, it includes vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians. We are very pleased that Autobest has recognized our contribution to Vision Zero with its SafetyBest 2024 award, achieved through the Detectable Jacket.” said Eric Vincelot, Head of Continental Engineering Services (CES) France.
TECHNOBEST 2024: CATL for the Shenxing battery
” We are very honoured to receive the TECHNOBEST award by the renowned AUTOBEST association for our fast-charging battery Shenxing. Electrification is a key development of the 21st century, one that we at CATL have set out to promote and advance through our innovative spirit and conviction.” said Jason Chen, General Manager CATL Europe.
Mr. Jason Chen and the Malta AUTOBEST Juror, Mr. Anthony Alfred Darmanin
The AUTOBEST awards are highly regarded as the most prestigious European accolades, often referred to as the Oscars of the automotive industry in Europe and the world, bringing together influential automotive figures worldwide.
The AUTOBEST Jury would like to thank all the representatives of the winners of the Gala for being present at the Leweck Resort in Luxembourg to receive the awards. Additionally, the Jury extends its appreciation to all the guests from more than 32 countries who participated in this special event.
For the next year’s edition of the Gala, AUTOBEST is eager to go to Zürich, Switzerland, for the last decade of April 2025.
The live-streaming of the AUTOBEST Gala 2024 can be watched on www.autobest.org official site or on the YouTube Channel of AUTOBEST: https://www.youtube.com/live/EbL4l4WG5Rc?si=KdycODPw6m8R5D6X
The AUTOBEST organisation was created in 2001 with the revolutionary concept of finding the ‘Best Buy Car’ available on the European market. AUTOBEST is the biggest independent motoring Jury in Europe, with top journalists representing 32 countries, of which Russia is suspended for the time being.
For a car to become an AUTOBEST winner, it must represent the best offer for most European customers. Price, service network, spare parts distribution and versatility are the most important criteria in the voting process. Design and new technologies are also becoming a more critical factor for voting. AUTOBEST uses a transparent voting system, with a complex matrix of 13 criteria to decide the winner.
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Andreea Oglan
