The winners were announced this evening, at a gala in Lisbon, and the Peugeot 308 is the big winner of the 39th edition of the Car of the Year / Crystal Wheel Trophy, winning not only the main title, but also being voted Plug- Hybrid in of the Year.
The third generation of the French brand’s compact – the best-selling model in the entire Peugeot range -, launched at the start of the year in Portugal, has gained in size, gained in interior space and more aggressive lines. With a complete range, the 308 is available in plug-in hybrid versions and will have a 100% electric variant next year.
During the last round of voting, which brought the seven finalists face to face, the Peugeot 308 won the majority of the votes of the 20 judges and beat the six other competitors: Cupra Born, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Nissan Qashqai, Škoda Enyaq . and Toyota Yaris Cross
This 39th edition of the Car of the Year / Volante de Cristal Trophy confirmed the new trends of the Portuguese market, with a majority of electric, classic hybrid or plug-in hybrid models among the 34 models in competition. On the shortlist, for example, 4 out of 7 models were 100% electric.
This market reversal was evident in the various competing classes, with “electrified” models winning in most categories:
City dweller of the year – Hyundai Bayon
Electric of the Year – Kia EV6
Hybrid of the Year – Toyota Yaris Cross
Sport of the year – Peugeot 508 PSE
Plug-in hybrid of the year – Peugeot 308 Hybrid
Familiar of the Year – Škoda Enyaq IV 80
Large SUV of the Year – Kia Sorento PHEV
Compact SUV of the Year – Nissan Qashqai MHEV
In this edition, the organization has once again submitted to the vote of the jury a set of innovative devices and cutting-edge technologies, the main objective of which is to directly benefit driving and safety.
Among the selected proposals, the Bosch Car Multimedia “V2X” project received the most votes and won the technology and innovation award. The “Vehicle to X Communication” (“V2X”) is one of the five vectors of the “Easy Ride” project developed by Bosch Car Multimedia, in Braga.
It is a project focused on the different aspects of autonomous driving, in which the vehicle will have an intelligent cockpit in order to offer a personalized journey to the occupant, having, at the same time, an idea of the condition of the car itself and its surroundings, such as the environment, other autonomous vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles, pedestrians, among others. The information is obtained through several sensors and the main objective is to reach levels of connectivity that allow progress towards safe autonomous driving and reduce, almost to zero, the number of deaths and injuries in road accidents. road.
Finally, Miguel Sanches, vice-president of operations at Volkswagen Brazil and South America, was honored with the personality of the year award. Miguel Sanches spent six years at the head of Autoeuropa, where he was mainly responsible for launching the production of the T-Roc. After leading the Volkswagen group’s Palmela plant, Miguel Sanches went to Brazil at the end of 2021, after a period of deep adaptation of this unit to the times of the pandemic and confinements.
This is an initiative of Expresso and SIC Notícias, which has a list of 20 jurors representing the main media in the country:
ACP – Antonio Xavier
Autofocus – José Caetano
Cars and Motors – Miguel Rodrigues
Morning Mail – Pedro Santos
Diario de Notícias – Paulo Tavares
IT Exam – Sérgio Magno
Espresso – Rui Cardoso
Jornal de Negócios – Adriano Oliveira
RTP – Paulo Solipa
Radio Renascença/RFM – José Carlos Santos Silva
Automotive Ledger – Diogo Teixeira
Record – Paulo Renato Soares
CIS online – Pedro Amante
SIC/SIC Notícias – Rui Pedro Reis
Engine 24 – Jose Silva Pires
Audience – Carla Ribeiro
TVI – Pedro Ramalho
TSF – Antonio Catarino
Steering wheel – Luís Cáceres Monteiro
VISION – Paulo Santos
