Volvo's XC40 is voted 2018 European Car of the Year

Just hours after the prestigious Oscars were handed out in Hollywood, one of the biggest awards ceremonies for car manufacturers took place 6,000 miles away in Geneva - revealing the 2018 European Car of the Year.


For the first time in its history, the gong went to Volvo for its compact and very classy XC40, which was voted ahead of six other nominees up for the prize by 60 motoring journalists from 23 countries, including the UK.

The British-designed XC40 received 325 votes, outscoring the 242 votes for runner-up the Seat Ibiza and third-placed BMW 5 Series, with 226 votes, the Daily Mail reports.

The announcement was made in Geneva ahead of the motor show kicking off tomorrow (Tuesday).

In a Eurovision-style tallying of points, a big screen cut to the representatives from each of the voting nations who revealed their favourites, with the six nominees made up by the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Audi A8, BMW 5 Series, Citroen C3 Aircross, Kia Stinger, Seat Ibiza and Volvo's eventual winner.

Despite picking up the European Car of the Year award for the first time, this isn't first trophy given to the Swedish brand this year.