• Volvo takes awards for 'Green car of the year' and 'Car brand with best features' at Auto Trader's inaugural New Car Awards
• Awards either voted for by new car owners or based on the car buying site's expert reviews
• Volvo V40 makes final three for overall 'New car of the year' award
Volvo Car UK triumphed twice at last night's inaugural Auto Trader New Car Awards, being awarded 'Green car of the year' for the XC90 T8 Twin Engine and 'Car brand with best features' for the company as a whole. The firm's V40 premium hatchback also made the final three for the overall 'New car of the year' title.
An awards ceremony with a difference, Auto Trader's New Car Awards are mainly based not on editorial decision-making but on a huge amount of data collected from real-life buyers of new cars. That Volvo won two out of the 10 categories is proof that its products are being extremely well received by its customers.
The Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine couples a 320 hp, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with an 87 hp electric motor to produce a combined 407 hp, while delivering CO2 emissions of just 49 g/km. Capable of travelling up to 27 miles on battery power alone in Pure mode, the XC90 T8 Twin Engine also has an incredibly competitive BIK rating of 9%, making it the ideal car for commuters who regularly cover longer distances.
The XC90 T8 Twin Engine's title of 'Green car of the year' was awarded by virtue of the car having the highest rating in Auto Trader's expert reviews of any car with CO2 emissions of 50 g/km or less.
Meanwhile, the award for 'Car brand with best features' demonstrates that Volvo's commitment to making people's lives safer and less complicated is winning over the public. New car owners were asked to rate the importance of certain features to them, such as navigation, smartphone integration and air conditioning. Overall, Volvo owners were the most satisfied with each of these features in their own cars – a particularly strong endorsement of the firm's latest Sensus connectivity system, which is now compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Andy Pringle, Auto Trader's Cars Editor, said: "The Auto Trader New Car Awards celebrate new cars on the market that are truly admired by those who matter most: their owners. Picking up awards for 'Car brand with best features' and 'Green car of the year', Volvo proves to be a car brand that strikes a chord with its owners, and both of these awards demonstrate how Volvo continues to future-proof this with innovative technology and desirable alternative-fuel models."
The V40's shortlisting for the overall 'New car of the year' title – voted for by owners for the most satisfying new car to own in the UK – is a notable success for a car that has been on sale since 2012, yet still has a huge amount to offer as a new purchase.
Jon Wakefield, Managing Director, Volvo Car UK, said: "These two awards in themselves are a great reflection of Volvo's growing capabilities in the areas of electrification and in-car connectivity in particular. That they also take into account owners' experiences really shows that our cars are striking a chord with buyers all over the country."
For more information on the Volvo range, please go to www.volvocars.com/uk
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Volvo Car Group in 2016
For the 2016 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 11,014 MSEK (6,620 MSEK in 2015). Revenue over the period amounted to 180,672 MSEK (164,043 MSEK). For the full year 2016, global sales reached a record 534,332 cars, an increase of 6.2 per cent versus 2015. The record sales and operating profit cleared the way for Volvo Car Group to continue investing in its global transformation plan.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world, with sales of 534,332 cars in 2016 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding.
As of December 2016, Volvo Cars had more than 31,000 employees worldwide. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China), and body components in Olofström (Sweden).
