If you've ever wondered what happened when two models scored the same number of points in the International Car of the Year (European) election, the 2019 edition came to give you the answer.
At the end of the vote count, both the Jaguar I-PACE and the Alpine A110 scored 250 points , forcing the tiebreaker to be applied. An unprecedented situation, as well as surprising, considering that it is a head-to-head dispute between an electric vehicle (with a sporting appeal) and a pure sports vehicle (not common in this type of event).
These criteria are simple and dictate that, in the event of a tie, the model that was most often the judges' first choice wins. Thanks to this criterion, Jaguar I-PACE won the trophy , as he led the choices of journalists 18 times against just 16 on the Alpine A110.
In addition to the tie at the end of the voting (COTY unprecedented), the other novelty was the fact that Jaguar has won this trophy for the first time. Despite being a debutant in winning the International Car of the Year, this is not Jaguar's first international award, which in 2017 won the World Car of The Year (in which Razão Automóvel is a jury) with the F-Pace.
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A very close vote
As if to prove how fierce this year's voting was, just look at the scores of the second and third classified elected by the jury composed of 60 jurors from 23 countries (among which the Portuguese Francisco Mota, who collaborates with Razão Automóvel).
Thus, the third placed, Kia Ceed, was only three points behind the winner, winning 247 points. In fourth place, with 235 points, was the new Ford Focus, proving how close was the election of this year's International Car of the Year 2019.
Ian Callum, Head of Design at JaguarWhy are people still surprised that electric cars win these awards? This is the future, everyone had better accept it.
This was the third time that an electric model won the trophy, with the victory of the Jaguar I-PACE joining the Nissan Leaf in 2012 and the Chevrolet Volt/Opel Ampera in 2012. With this victory the British model succeeds the Volvo XC40, the winner of last year's edition.