By Bennett Oghifo
The all-electric Jaguar I-PACE has been awarded Norwegian Car of the Year 2019.
Eight expert jurors voted for Jaguar’s first electric vehicle (EV) against eight other finalists, including the Volvo V60, Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus.
The jury, which included a racing driver and industrial designer as well as automotive journalists, evaluated all aspects of each vehicle’s performance, and loved I-PACE’s driving dynamics, range and premium feel. Seven of the eight voted the I-PACE as the winner.
Jaguar deserves a lot of respect for its debut electric vehicle. The I-PACE sets the standard for premium feel and quality, while ride, handling, range and design are its greatest strengths. I’ve driven a lot of electric vehicles, and this is the one I’ve enjoyed the most.
It’s been a long time since our final decision on Norway Car of the Year was so clear,” Espen Stensrud, Lead Juror for Norway Car of the Year.
The British EV has had a profound impact in the Norwegian market, more than doubling Jaguar sales there in the last six months. Norway is one of the most developed markets for electrified vehicles in the world: there are more than 178,500 EVs on the road already, and they account for 29% of the vehicles sold in the country this year so far – add in hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and that figure reaches 60%*.
Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover’s Executive Director for Product Engineering, said “The Jaguar I-PACE is our first all-electric vehicle, so winning Car of the Year in the world’s most competitive electric vehicle market is a brilliant achievement. It is testament to the hard work of our pioneering engineers and designers, and something we’re all extremely proud of.”
The I-PACE has now received over 30 awards globally since its 01 March reveal, including German Car of the Year, BBC TopGear Magazine EV of the Year and China Green Car of the Year.
Jaguar’s heritage of elegant design and breathtaking performance has excited and delighted the world for 80 years. Today’s world-class Jaguar family embodies the Art of Performance, with the remarkable, much admired and award-winning XE, XF and XJ saloons, the dramatic F-TYPE sports car, the F-PACE performance crossover – the fastest-selling Jaguar ever, the new E-PACE compact performance SUV and now I-PACE, the all-electric performance SUV that puts Jaguar at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution.
