European-built Hyundai i30 hatchback wins the Car of the year award in Spain!

It has happened for the first time that Hyundai’s passenger car has been chosen as the “2008 Car of the Year” in any European country. In this particular case, the i30 won the acclaimed Car of the year title in the sunny Spain.

A group of journalists working for newspapers, auto magazines and television programs has selected the Car of the year in Spain based on it exterior and interior design, performance, safety and reliability.

Hyundais i30 received 220 points from journalists, enough to take the first spot. It has beaten all the other contestants by a large margint. Placed in second was the Fiat 500, which received only 52 points, while the third vehicle, Ford Mondeo received a mere 36 points.

The Hyundai i30 has drawn much attention since it earned a record-breaking number of points. It has also became the very first Asian automobile chosen to be Spain’s best car of the year.

Hyundais spokesperson said, “Hyundai Motor’s brand value is expected to increase in the global market. We plan to come up with aggressive marketing strategies by making good use of our achievements in Spain.”

Hyundai i30 has been launched in Spain in June 2007, and since then more than 4.469 units have been sold in the market. Since its official European launch in September, more than 24.727 units of i30 have been sold across the European continent.