The present financial year can be considered as one of the golden years for the global automotive industry as it has witnessed a flee of new launches and in-corporation of new technologies in the vehicles. On the flip side, the global sales have seen a steep decline due to the economic situation and government policies in various markets. Any best offering is bound to be rewarded and select European auto journalists who form a small jury of members decide the best car in that particular calendar year and award the European car of the year award to that particular vehicle.
The car of the year award will be awarded to a particular vehicle after the jury members scrutinise the offerings of various brands by considering some essential factors. The European car of the year award is one of the most prestigious automobile awards in the world and every automaker who is operating in the European market has a dream to achieve this award. The exercise for the 2014 European car of the year award began way back in August this year. From the long list of vehicles launched and being sold, the jury members have selected 30 cars initially in September which had the true potential to bag this prestigious award.
After a lot of analysis and considering various factors along with screening the vehicles by performing various tests for outright performance and safety as well as innovation, the jury members have finally short-listed seven vehicles which were announced recently. All the short-listed cars for the final round have are the best in their segment. The following cars are the most innovative vehicles – BMW i3, Tesla S and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. These cars have offered great performance and are safety rich.
The final contenders for bagging the 2014 European car of the year award – the BMW i3, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Peugeot 308, Skoda Octavia and Tesla S. However the second generation Hyundai i10 and Ford EcoSport have not been shortlisted as these cars might be brilliant in some countries, they aren’t benchmarks in their category in all global markets.
As every auto manufacturer has started concentrating on developing fuel efficient and nature friendly vehicles, we can expect the jury might give greater emphasis to innovation. The Mazda3 was well received for its sleek design and fuel saving nature and it might be a step ahead to get the award as it has also been short-listed for the final round of the 2014 North American car of the year award. The result of the European car of the year awards are going to be announced at the 2014 Geneva Motor show which is going to be held in March 2014.
