The international jury of the 'Car of the Year' Award, composed of 58 trade journalists, representing 22 European countries, has elected the Fiat Panda 'Car of the Year 2004'.

With 281 votes the Fiat Panda came in first, ahead of the Mazda3 (241), the Volkswagen Golf (241), the Toyota Avensis (219), the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva (213), the BMW 5 series (144) and the Nissan Micra (111).

As well as being the overall winner of 'Car of the Year 2004', the ultra-compact Fiat was also the car which got votes from the most members of the jury: 55 out of 58 of them included the Panda in their nominations, while 16 rated it top.

This is also the first time a segment A model has won the most prestigious accolade in the car industry. An extraordinary record, that takes Fiat Auto's victories to 5 in the last ten editions: Fiat Punto in '95, Fiat Bravo/Brava in '96, Alfa 156 in '98, Alfa 147 in 2001 and Fiat Panda in 2004.

The 'Car of the Year' award ceremony, this year organised by the French magazine 'L'Automobile Magazine', will take place in Paris on 19 January 2004.

The 'Car of the Year' award was launched in 1964. In order to be admitted to the competition the new cars must have been marketed on at least five different European countries in the course of the year. Then the following parameters are assessed: design, comfort, safety, fuel economy, driveability, performance, practicality, respect for the environment and lastly price and value for money.

A shortlist is made from all the new models launched during the year, and seven finalists go forward to be judged. Each member of the jury has 25 points to award among the 7 cars, with a maximum of 10 points for the first choice.


A SUCCESSFUL DEBUT

Presented to the international press on 2 September, the Fiat Panda immediately elicited great interest and highly favourable comments from over 1,000 journalists from 21 countries who had come to Lisbon for the launch of the new model.

This critical acclaim was immediately confirmed by the appreciation of the clients: the first 'Open Day' event held in Italy on 13 and 14 September attracted over 500,000 visitors to 700 Fiat outlets in Italy. This great reception was also borne out by 95,000 orders in Europe in the first two months alone.

All of this is thanks to a car which is relatively small from the outside, but with the levels of comfort you would normally associate with a big car; designed to be low on consumption yet not for this reason less sparkling on performance; ideal in city traffic but at the same time perfect for longer journeys, guaranteeing its passengers a relaxing trip.

All these features make the Fiat Panda the definitive 'great little car', which incidentally also has an extremely high value for money thanks to its combination of great features, low running costs and residual value.

Fiat thus confirms its key role in the evolution of this sector, where it has been a leading player for so long, from the first 600 to the 500, from the 126 to the first Panda, from the Cinquecento to the Seicento. There has always been a Fiat city-car for the people: back when the car first heralded individual mobility, then when car owners learned to appreciate cars that were aesthetically pleasing, reliable and a pleasure to drive, even though lower in price and with reduced space, weight and engine size.

FIAT AUTO 'CARS OF THE YEAR'

LEAGUE TABLE OF BRANDS SINCE 1964