Just a week after it arrived in Ireland, the winner of the European ‘Car of the Year’ award for 2017 is the Peugeot 3008.

It has been quiet a week for the French car maker as the parent organisation, PSA has acquired the Opel and Vauxhall brands from General Motors.

The ‘Car of the Year’ Jury is made up of 58 journalists from 22 European countries and the final vote took place on Monday at the Geneva International Motor Show which opened this week.

Jean-Philippe Imparato, Peugeot CEO received the prestigious and very coveted award which was won by Peugeot ahead of six competitors that made up this year’s shortlist. The finalists of this year were: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Citroën C3, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Nissan Micra, Peugeot 3008, Toyota C-HR and Volvo S90/V90.

The President of the Jury, Hakan Matson, automobile expert from the Swedish economic magazine Dagens Industri, justified the vote saying: “The jury recognizes that the market share of SUVs and Crossover cars has been steadily increasing. The Peugeot is a worthy winner.”

Jean-Philippe Imparato, CEO of Peugeot since September 1st, 2016 said:”I am particularly proud and very pleased that the new Peugeot 3008 has just won the 2017 Car of the Year prize. This trophy is the culmination of five years of incredible work by the brand's teams and our group. We are so happy. It is a great moment and I am very proud to receive this prize for our Peugeot 3008.”

The “Car of the Year” trophy is considered as the most prestigious and coveted award in the automobile world. Currently, 58 journalists from 22 countries are members of the jury.

The new Peugeot 3008 is the first SUV winner since the creation of the trophy in 1964. It is also the fifth Peugeot vehicle named Car of the Year, following the 308 in 2014, the 307 in 2002, the 405 in 1988 and the 504 in 1969.

The criteria taken into consideration for the award are, in addition to the innovation and the security, the design and the value for money.