The Toyota Prius has been voted 2005 Car of the Year by the 58 members of the European Car of the Year Jury, it was announced last Monday. After two rounds of voting, the car was chosen from among seven finalists and declared the clear winner.
The Prius is the first petrol-electric hybrid vehicle to win the accolade. It received no fewer than 406 points, 139 points more than the second place car, the Citroën C4 (267). The other finalists were the Ford Focus (228), Vauxhall Astra (180), Renault Modus (151), Peugeot 407 (135) and BMW 1-series (83).
Tadashi Arashima, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Marketing Europe, said: "We are absolutely delighted to receive the 2005 Car of the Year award for Prius.
"We believe that hybrid technology, in particular as implemented in the Prius with our revolutionary Hybrid Synergy Drive system, represents a big step forward in reducing the environmental impact of automobiles, while at the same time enhancing driving performance.
"This is a major milestone in the acceptance of the hybrid powertrain and the recognition of its potential to become a mainstream technology. It is also a great encouragement to us in our work on developing more environmentally friendly vehicles."
According to Steve Cropley, editor-in-chief of Autocar magazine, is one of the six UK members of the Car of the Year jury: "Toyota's Prius is the most successful hybrid car available today and is being used as everyday transport by 120,000 drivers worldwide. Toyota have clearly demonstrated the way forward."
The Toyota Prius is the cleanest family car on sale with an emissions figure of just 104g/km; it combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with a powerful electric motor. At speeds of up to 50 km/h the Prius can run on its electric motor alone making it a zero emissions vehicle in city traffic and when stationary. At higher speeds or when brisk acceleration is needed the petrol engine cuts in to work with the electric motor and battery.
During deceleration and braking, the electric motor operates as a generator to help recover energy that would otherwise be wasted and restore the charge of the battery. This is known as regenerative braking and explains why Prius never requires 'plugging in' as would be the case on a conventional electric car.
Prius, the world's first mass produced hybrid vehicle, is propelled by the combination of an electric motor and a petrol engine. Since its introduction in early 2004, Prius sales in Europe are expected to reach 8,500 units this year.
Next year, the sales target has been set at 15,000 units for Europe, and an increase in production capacity will allow 180,000 cars to be sold worldwide.