Parkers’ sister brand Fleet News has announced the winner of its annual awards, with the Volkswagen Passat coming out top in the Best Company Car category.
The Passat won the Best Upper Medium Car category, holding off a strong challenge from the Peugeot 508 and Skoda Superb. The shortlist in this competitive category also included the Ford Mondeo, Toyota Avensis and Vauxhall Insignia.
Other winners included the Ford Fiesta which won the Best Small Car Award; the Ford Focus that topped the Best Lower Medium Car Award and the Skoda Superb estate that won the estate car category. The Toyota Land Cruiser took the 4×4 honours.
The versatile SEAT Alhambra triumphed in the people carrier category, while the Nissan Qashqai won the Best Crossover Award. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class secured the Best Premium Car Award and the BMW 5 Series topped the Best Boardroom Car category.
In the manufacturer categories the Awards were fruitful for Toyota and Lexus, which secured the best Green Fleet Manufacturer title. The Most Improved Fleet Manufacturer Award went to Skoda. BMW won Fleet Manufacturer of the Year.
Cars were judged on a range of criteria including operating costs (depreciation, fuel, servicing, maintenance and repair, lease rates, tax liability), suitability for their use as business cars and the level of support from the manufacturers and their corporate sales teams.
A panel made up of fleet industry experts as well as senior members of the Fleet News editorial team were involved in the judging process, chaired by former SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan and audited by Deloitte. New Company Car of the Year and Fleet Manufacturer of the Year were voted on by fleet operator readers of Fleet News.
Stephen Briers, Editor of Fleet News, said “Once again, the Fleet News Awards showed why it is the most important event in the fleet calendar. Almost 1,400 people, representing the cream of the industry, gathered together to toast the 28 winners. And amid all the glamour of the awards presentations was the networking among business leaders as they discussed their optimism for the fleet sector long into the evening. It was another fantastic event.”
To see the full list of Award winners click here.
