The ceremonies may have taken place digitally this year, but BMW’s joy in receiving a number of prestigious awards for its current range of models, design philosophy and technology was very real despite the switch to virtual. The Munich-based premium carmaker earned praise once again in 2020 both in Germany and abroad with an array of title wins and top rankings in expert assessments and public votes. These distinctions ranged from awards for new models and prizes for BMW’s current design language, its latest technological innovations and its brand presence, to special accolades recognising the brand’s exceptional quality, reliability, safety and customer satisfaction record.
The models crowned by specialist publications, market observers, other institutions and readers’ polls as the best vehicles of the year for 2020 span the full breadth of the brand’s product range, from the compact class to the luxury segment. Added to which, the worldwide spread of awards endorses the “Power of Choice” approach with which the BMW Group has addressed the mobility needs of customers around the globe. The latest BMW models with electrified drive systems, the brand’s vehicles powered by conventional combustion engines and the high-performance cars from BMW M GmbH all made a compelling case for themselves with their characteristic driving pleasure and advanced technology.
Winning efficiency: BMW models with electrified drive systems.
BMW’s success in 2020 again underscores its leading position as a maker of vehicles with electrified drive systems. Among the brand’s biggest winners was the BMW 330e Sedan (fuel consumption, combined: 1.8 – 1.5 l/100 km [156.9 – 188.3 mpg imp]; electric power consumption, combined: 14.8 – 13.9 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 41 – 35 g/km). In Germany, the plug-in hybrid model was presented with the “Goldenen Lenkrad” by “Auto Bild” and “Bild am Sonntag” and the “Auto Trophy” by “Auto Zeitung”. Back at the start of the year, British magazine “What Car?” had named the BMW 330e Sedan “Best Executive Car” and “Best Plug-in-Hybrid”, and added an “Electric Car Award” to the collection in August 2020. The plug-in hybrid also earned the “Best Company Car” prize from both “Autocar and “Parkers” magazine.
Another “Electric Car Award” from “What Car?” went to the BMW X5 xDrive45e (fuel consumption, combined: 2.1 – 1.6 l/100 km [134.5 – 176.6 mpg imp]; electric power consumption, combined: 25.2 – 23.5 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 47 – 37 g/km), which was also named “Best Large Premium SUV” by “Auto Express” magazine and “Best Large Plug-in-Hybrid” by online portal “Car Buyer”. Meanwhile, “Car Buyer” handed the title of “Best Large Company Car” to the BMW 530e Sedan (fuel consumption, combined: 1.9 – 1.7 l/100 km [148.7 – 166.2 mpg imp]; electric power consumption, combined: 14.9 – 13.8 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 43 – 39 g/km).
The purely electrically powered BMW iX3 (fuel consumption, combined: 0.0 l/100 km; electric power consumption, combined: 17.8 – 17.5 kWh/100 km; CO2 emissions, combined: 0 g/km) claimed its first awards in China, where the locally emission-free Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) has been produced by the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture for a few months now. The national publications “miaodongche30”, “Auto World”, “sohu.com” and “zhongshulaila” rated the BMW iX3 as the new arrival of the year against the other electric vehicles on sale in China.
Outstanding driving pleasure in the compact segment.
Several BMW models in the premium compact segment earned international recognition in 2020. The new BMW 1 Series was given the title of “Premium Lower Medium Car of the Year” by British publication “Company Car Today” and also won a “Great British Fleet Award” (likewise in the UK) as the “Best Lower Medium Fleet Car”. In the “Used Car of the Year Awards” conducted by “What Car?”, the previous-generation BMW M140i was voted “Best Used Hot Hatch” of the year.
At the “Festival Automobile International” for 2020 in France, it was a new vehicle concept for the compact segment that stole the show: the new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé was anointed the “Most Beautiful Car of the Year”.