Renault has won the coveted European Car of the Year award for a second successive year with its Renault 5 and Alpine A290 hot hatch sister.
The announcement, on the opening day of the Brussels Motor Show, follows the French brand’s success in the 2024 awards with the Scenic E-Tech.
Formerly a fairly minor show, the Brussels event has assumed new importance on the European automotive market since the demise of the Geneva Motor Show and this year’s event features five models making their world debut and 14 seen for the first time in Europe.
A jury of 60 judges, primarily leading motoring journalists in 23 countries judged the COTY awards, the final vote involving a shortlisted seven models. The Renault/Alpine pairing was placed first by 25 of the judges ahead of the much-fancied Kia EV3.
In total the Renault/Alpine small EV, which is due on UK roads in 2025, soared 353 points, the Kia securing 291 well ahead of third-placed finisher the Citroën C3/e-C3 on 215 points.
The listing was completed by the Dacia Duster (172 points), the Hyundai Inster (168), Cupra Terramar (165) and Alfa Romeo Junior (136).
Renault is only the second manufacturer to take a back-to-back COTY award and the first in almost 30 years – Fiat won both the 1995 and 1996 competitions with its Punto and Bravo models.
Philippe Krief, CEO of Alpine, called the win all the more symbolic as the A290 is the first step in the brand’s ‘electric Dream Garage’ programme of sporty but stylish EVs.”I would like to thank all the teams rewarded today for their passion and professionalism. But also the entire Alpine community of fans and customers, who are today writing a new page in the history of the French brand,” Krief added.
