Well, that has to be one of the most comforting things to happen to me since I spent a fortune on a car that nobody I knew understood the point of:
“American electric car becomes the Danish car of the year.”
Getting picked up by my wife this afternoon after work, I saw this on the car’s web browser (this is one of things that I say that makes my friends go blank-eyed…). The association of Danish Motor Journalists has officially named the Tesla Model 3 the car of the year in Denmark 2020!
Is This A Big Deal?
This is a big deal. I was not at all sure this would happen. The Model 3 has been tested and talked about a lot in the respected legacy conservative magazine Motor from the Danish Motorist Association (FDM), but they have been critical and skeptical, and, well, that’s all fine, because it was obvious to me that they kept missing some of the key features. Even I have severe difficulties putting these into words, and therefore find myself in conversation with my car (named Colin) on these matters.
But that’s all forgotten and forgiven now. Allow me to provide an abbreviated translation of the press release from FDM today:
“The Car of the Year in Denmark 2020 is the Tesla Model 3.
“This evening the American electric car won a victory in the annual Danish car competition with a comfortable margin.
“This marks the first time in the 52-year history of the Danish Car Of The Year Award that an all-American car wins. And the first time it happens to be an all electric car.
“A total of 5 cars were in the final, with Tesla Model 3 beating another ‘Dane favorite’ in the final race, the Peugeot 208. The all-new version of the French hatchback is available with both petrol and diesel engines as well as with a pure electric drivetrain, but it was not enough for it to catch up with the Tesla Model 3.”
Photo from FDM press release.
And FDM’s car technology editor, Søren W. Rasmussen, adds:
“The Tesla Model 3 is a natural winner of the Car of the Year in Denmark 2020. It is an electric car that has revolutionized the car world in many ways, because Tesla has managed to make a fun and well-equipped electric car with long range, good driving characteristics, and high safety, as we have come to expect from Tesla.”
To carve the strong position of the Tesla Model 3 in stone, it’s a fact that it has also won Car of the Year in Norway this week, and it is among the 7 cars that made it to the European Car of the Year 2020 final.
The cheapest Tesla Model 3 has a Danish base street price of DKK 374,000 ($55,110), and 1,800 cars have been sold in the country since it entered the Danish market in February of this year, making it by far the best-selling electric car in Denmark in 2019.
The top 5 competing cars for this 2020 award were given the following points:
1. Tesla Model 3: 166 points
2. Peugeot 208: 131 points
3. BMW 3 Series: 116 points
4. Kia Xceed: 105 points
5. BMW 1 Series: 82 points
Editor’s note: Who the hell is voting for #2–5???
“Car of the year with surprise.”
Rising Taxes Coming
While this does indeed make Tesla owners and followers very happy, we should not expect Tesla to be the best selling EV brand in Denmark next year, because of a planned raise in registration fees. The most expensive cars may see a rise of up to 10% in street price. The good news is that cars below a price tag of DKK 400,000 ($59,000) including VAT are still free from registration fees, and that’s why I think the many new smaller models coming from Peugeot, Volkswagen, and others will be very successful. Tesla started something. Now buckle up for a wild ride.
There is still room for more Tesla cars alongside my Colin. Keep ’em coming!
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