Peugeot 308 Beats BMW i3 as 2014 European Car of the Year

The Peugeot 308 beat six other vehicles, including electric autos from BMW and Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), as Europe’s Car of the Year, providing a boost to the model’s French producer that’s struggling to return to profit.
The hatchback built by PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG) received the most votes from a panel of European business and trade journalists, Hakan Matson, president of the award jury, said at a press conference at the Geneva International Motor Show.
The 308 is part of Peugeot’s strategy of developing up-market vehicles to end losses following a six-year contraction in Europe’s auto market. The French company, unprofitable two years in a row, agreed last month to sell 14 percent stakes to Chinese partner Dongfeng Motor Corp. and the French state as part of a 5.27 billion-euro ($7.25 billion) fund-raising effort to overhaul the model line.
“We talked a lot about Peugeot in the past few months, but not enough about cars, so I’m happy now to talk about cars,” Maxime Picat, head of the Peugeot brand, said at the press conference. In reference to his nameplate’s logo, he added that “the lion is hungry” after waiting for its first award since 2002.