Peter Horbury, Geely Automotive Group Chief Designer, voted ‘DESIGNBEST 2018‘
The Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Rifter/Opel Combo, Citroen C4 Cactus, Dacia Duster, Ford Focus, Kia Ceed, and Toyota Corolla are the finalists for the European ‘AUTOBEST 2019. These cars will compete for the prize of ‘Best Buy Car of Europe in 2019’. The jury of 31 members will make their final assessments and cast their votes in the upcoming weeks, with the winner announced on December 15th.
“This year we have a record of new cars attending the Final list of the European competition.
This comes mainly as a result of the Jury members deciding that the PSA Group’s new model will compete as one – a first for our AUTOBEST jury. This increased number will make this year’s competition for Best Buy Car of Europe in 2019 even more exciting! Another first is Citroen which is the first brand to have two models in the Final,” said Dan Vardie, Founder and Chairman of AUTOBEST organisation. In accordance with the AUTOBEST rules, the Jury decides the number of the finalists every year.
AUTOBEST is releasing the logo of ‘European AUTOBEST 2019 Finalist’. The seven manufacturers are entitled to use the logo in all of their communication and promotion campaigns in the lead-up to the announcement of the AUTOBEST 2019 winner.
On November 27th & 28th, the European AUTOBEST Jury will go to the Vairano proving ground near Milano, Italy, for the Final 6 test. “At AUTOBEST we perform some of the most relevant, complex driving tests in the motoring media. Several years ago, we inaugurated our comparative on-road and on-track tests, in cooperation with ASC Vairano, the proving ground of Quattroruote, the leading Italian car magazine and member of AUTOBEST. We also pioneered the most advanced form of a Q&A session in the automotive industry. All these make the AUTOBEST Vairano gathering a unique event in the European motoring media” stated Ilia Seliktar, President of the AUTOBEST Jury.
‘MANBEST 2018’ award, the leading Hall of Fame dedicated to the best top managers we have in the industry, goes to Linda Jackson, CEO of Citroen. “In an automotive world dominated by male leadership, Linda is a brilliant example of a competitive female top executive. She is the first female to be inducted in our 18-year history `MANBEST Hall of Fame`. We are all very excited having her in the most important gallery of top executives in the global car industry,” said Dan Vardie, Founder and Chairman of AUTOBEST organisation.
This year’s ‘DESIGNBEST 2018’ award goes to Peter Horbury, the Chief Designer at Geely Automotive Group. Entering this one of a kind Hall of Fame, reserved only for the best car designers, Horbury receives a European recognition for his incredible work as car designer who managed to define the design language of several car brands. In recent years, Peter has lead the design of Geely in China, Lynk&CO in Sweden, Lotus and London Taxi in UK, Proton in Malaysia plus design work for Terrafugia in America..
`TECHNOBEST 2018` goes to French brand DS for its Active Scan Suspension for pioneering the use of a camera, four attitude sensors and three accelerometers to scan the road ahead for bumps and dips, adjusting the damper settings accordingly. It is remarkable automotive technology, giving a predictable refined ride for the comfort of the passengers in the car. This award is a first for the French brand. For AUTOBEST, this year marks the return of the TECHNOBEST award following a two-year absence, when the jury deemed that no new technology warranted the award.
This year’s prestigious `SPORTBEST 2018` award goes to Toyota Motor Company for the outstanding results in motorsport. Toyota has a long and successful history in many motorsport series on a top level, from Formula One to Indycars to Endurance Racing and Rallying. 2018 marked a real highlight for the Japanese manufacturer and its Cologne-based motorsports team: A 1-2 victory in the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans gave proof of the commitment, ambition, teamwork and above all perseverance of the people at Toyota Racing and Toyota Motorsport. In the currently ongoing World Endurance Championship (WEC) and World Rally Championship (WRC), Toyota chases manufacturers’ and drivers’ titles.
AUTOBEST Jury members represent 31 European countries, making it the largest Independent Motoring Jury in the world by the number of represented countries. AUTOBEST Jury pays close attention to the efforts the automotive industry is making. Investments, new automotive job opportunities for people, funds for green cars and technologies, the support for different regions of Europe are all carefully checked and appreciated by the Jury. New in-car technologies and connectivity are also under the scrutiny of the Jury. In total, we dedicate eight awards to these achievements in the following categories; MANBEST, COMPANYBEST, ECOBEST, DESIGNBEST, TECHNOBEST, SAFETYBEST, SMARTBEST and SPORTBEST. Today AUTOBEST is releasing the first four. We will issue a communication concerning the remaining award winners at a later date.
The 18th awards ceremony will take place in Brussels, Belgium on February 7th, 2019. Every year the AUTOBEST Awards Gala brings together the top executives of various companies. Therefore, it has become one of the only annual European events where competitors gather at the same table with great pleasure. The AUTOBEST Awards Gala has evolved in the last 18 years from a distinguished dinner in a five-star location to a European Gala with world-class artistic content, gourmet menu and a unique Grand Finale for the AUTOBEST Award. The 2018 Awards Gala was held in Salzburg, Austria.
At the same time, AUTOBEST Jury welcomes Rui Pedro Reis, as the new member representing Portugal. He is replacing Jose Caetano who decided to step back from the Jury. Rui Pedro is a respected motoring journalist voice in Portugal. On his acceptance as a jury member, Rui Pedro said: “It’s an honour to join AUTOBEST. I look forward to contributing all I can and to be a proud ambassador in Portugal.”
Additionally, Alrik Söderlind, Editor in Chief of `Auto Motor & Sport` will represent Sweden in the European Jury. He is replacing Anders Helgesson, a very appreciated motoring journalist. Joining AUTOBEST, Alrik said: “I’m looking forward to participating in AUTOBEST – to reward new cars that really matter for the development of motoring. Really good cars within a reasonable budget.”
Rui Pedro’s and Alrik’s membership is coming into force from now on. Consequently, they will participate in all the AUTOBEST Jury related activities, effective immediately. More info on www.autobest.org.
