The all-electric Jaguar I-Pace has won the European Car of the Year award for 2019.
Traditionally announced on the eve of the Geneva motor show, the much-coveted industry award was taken by a Jaguar for the first time, the I-Pace succeeding the Volvo XC40 that won in 2018.
The European Car of the Year is decided by a panel of 60 motoring journalists from 23 European countries, who mark entrants for technical innovation, design, performance, efficiency and value for money.
This year the I-Pace beat a shortlist that also included the Alpine A110 sports car, Citroën C5 Aircross SUV, and the Ford Focus, Kia Ceed, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Peugeot 508 family cars.
The award follows the I-Pace winning UK Car of the Year last week and reflects the sales success of Jaguar’s first EV. More than 8,000 have been sold since the model was launched around a year ago and 75% of them have gone to European buyers.
Accepting the award, Jaguar CEO Dr Ralf Speth said that the brand’s first electric vehicle also being the first Jaguar to win European Car of the Year provided a huge sense of pride.
“I-Pace was designed and engineered in the UK from a clean sheet of paper – it is the most technologically advanced battery electric vehicle, a true game-changer,” Speth said.
He added; “Winning European Car of the Year is an honour and real recognition of what our world-class team has delivered.”
