TORONTO, April 6, 2018 – The Chevrolet Bolt today was named Overall Winner of the 2018 Canadian Green Car Award.
The Chevrolet Bolt was also named Overall Winner in 2017, marking the first time in the Award’s six-year history that a vehicle has won back to back.
L to R – Michael Bettencourt & Eric Novak, Canadian Green Car Award, Ester Bucci, Chevrolet Canada, Laurie Simmonds, Green Living Enterprises, Tim Gray, Environmental Defence
A panel of 12 top Canadian automotive journalists selected the Bolt, a groundbreaking electric vehicle with a 383-kilometre range, from among four category winners as the vehicle that best combines environmental benefits and mass-market appeal.
“Chevrolet is honoured to accept the Canadian Green Car Award for the third consecutive year”, said Ester Bucci, brand, product and technology communications manager at Chevrolet Canada. “This award reinforces Chevrolet’s commitment to offering an affordable, world-changing vehicle that delivers on the promise of an electric car for the masses. Chevrolet is dedicated to continued innovation in electrification, that will bring the thrill of driving an electric vehicle to many more Canadians.”
L to R – Masha Marinkovic and Ester Bucci, General Motors Canada
The Chevrolet Volt was named overall winner in 2016. Other previous overall winners include the Kia Soul EV (2015), the Honda Accord Hybrid (2014) and the Ford Fusion Hybrid (2013).
For this year’s Canadian Green Car Award, the Bolt had won the Zero Emissions category, in an earlier selection round, after extensive testing and assessments by the judges.
The category winners include:
- Zero Emission – Chevrolet Bolt
- Plug-in Hybrid – Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
- Conventional Hybrid – Hyundai Ioniq
- Efficient Internal Combustion – Honda Civic
According to Eric Novak of EnviroDad.com, the Award’s Co-Creator and member of the Steering Committee, the Bolt EV received 6 of the possible 12 first place votes from the judging panel in the final round of evaluations. “Our list of category winners this year was exceptional, however in the end our judges felt that the Chevrolet Bolt EV with its game-changing range and competitive price point was most deserving of being named overall winner”. The Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid received 4 first place votes while the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid received 2.
The Bolt and other category winners will be on display for the duration of the three-day Green Living Show, open until 9 p.m. today; from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The Canadian Green Car Award recognizes vehicles, widely available in Canada, that combine impressive environmental attributes with strong mass-market appeal and is Canada’s original national automotive award focusing on the environment factors.
The assessments included both “objective” criteria, such as fuel economy, emissions and price, and the judges’ evaluations of performance, driving experience, value, features and “green” qualities. Those environmental benefits included not only fuel efficiency and emissions but also the use of sustainable or recyclable materials and measures taken by manufacturers to green their operations.
“My congratulations to GM and the other category winners, who have once again demonstrated the auto industry’s determination to keep raising the bar for both environmentally beneficial technology and overall quality and driving experience,” said Laurie Simmonds, CEO of Green Living Enterprises. “Several years of strong, often record-setting, sales also prove that these improvements are not only good for consumers but also for the manufacturers’ bottom line.”
The 2018 competition began with the Award Steering Committee selecting three nominees in each of the four categories, based on meeting essential “green” criteria related to technology type and fuel economy.
Each year, the fuel economy criteria are made increasingly stringent, in line with government standards that require, on average, a five per cent improvement annually until 2025.
The judges then evaluated the nominees, including test drives, data from manufacturers and their own experience, to nominate the four category winners.
Finally, the judges selected the overall winner, announced today, from among the category winners.
This open process, in which eligibility doesn’t depend on whether a manufacturer is willing to pay a substantial entry fee, is in line with other global green car awards and makes the program a very meaningful gauge for consumers.
The Canadian Green Car Award is an independent program developed by automotive journalists Eric Novak, Michael Bettencourt, Andrew McCredie, who comprise its steering committee. The Award recognizes vehicles, widely available in Canada, that offer both impressive environmental attributes and strong mass-market appeal, since any product can have a significant impact only if it sells in large numbers.
For more details on the 2018 Canadian Green Car Award, including the list of all vehicle nominees and the judges who assessed them, visit www.canadiangreencaraward.ca .
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