The French brand’s latest 208 hatch pips rivals like the Porsche Taycan and new Ford Puma to European Car of the Year award.

PEUGEOT HAS claimed its sixth European Car of the Year award with the new 2020 Peugeot 208.

Unconfirmed yet for Australia but likely to land here later this year, Peugeot’s next-generation 208, which we’ve already driven, comes with a variety of drivetrains including hybrid electric. 

The award was presented unceremoniously behind closed doors at a huge and quiet Palexpo exhibition centre which was due to open the Geneva motor show tomorrow, but was cancelled at the last minute to minimise the risk of a Coronavirus outbreak.

Awarded by 60 journalists from 23 countries, Peugeot took the win on 281 points, comfortably ahead of the Tesla Model 3 (242), Porsche Taycan (222), the 208’s closet rival the Renault Clio (211), new Ford Puma SUV (209), Toyota Corolla (152) and BMW 1 Series (133).

Executive vice president of Peugeot, Jean-Philippe Imperato, was not present but said during a teleconference that he was surprised with the win.

“We love cars, and we recoginise the Car of the Year jury is made up of experts, so we are honoured to win. It’s a big surprise and a big pleasure for us.”

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