On 22 January, Feria de Madrid hosted the fifth Estrella LUIKE Motor Awards, whose prize-giving ceremony was attended by a wide range of Spanish car and motorcycle company representatives. Its 24 awards provided a glowing reflection of the health of the motor industry in this country. This was the fifth set of awards organised by LUIKE Iberoamericana de Revistas, publisher of some of the leading magazines on the market, including Autofácil, EVO Magazine and Scooting. The prizes are awarded objectively, based on official statistics for the best-selling models and brands on the market compiled by ANFAC (IAE) and ANESDOR (MSI).
The awards were sponsored by the 15th MOTORTEC AUTOMECHANIKA MADRID, Spain’s leading International Trade Fair for the Automotive Industry, organised by IFEMA, which attracts industry professionals from the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America and North Africa, and will take place from 13 to 16 March 2019 at Feria de Madrid. David Moneo, Director of IFEMA MOTOR, took the opportunity during his welcome speech to recognise the role played by IFEMA in supporting the motor and mobility sector, through its seven industry-related events, including after-sales – the Madrid Auto Motor Show, the VO Trade Show for used and nearly new vehicles, Madrid Auto Professional, FIAA, TRAFIC and Viva la Moto. “No less than 300,000 people visit these trade fairs every year,” he added.
Big winners at the awards included the Seat León, which received two LUIKE prizes, for the best-selling compact car sold to private customers and the highest total sales, and the Dacia Sandero, also with two prizes, for the best-selling car and the best-selling MPV sold to private customers over the past year. At the same time, the French manufacturer Peugeot and the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Honda both won Estrella LUIKE Motor awards as the leading brands in Spain during 2018.
The Estrella LUIKE Motor awards also recognise other aspects of the motoring world. These special awards include the José Gómez Mar Prize for the Best Communications Team, named in honour of the pioneer of Spanish motoring press departments, which this year went to Seat. Meanwhile, the Innovation Prize was awarded to Ficosa for its ‘Digital Rear-view Mirror’ project, the first rear-view mirror to incorporate cameras and monitors instead of mirrors, and the prize for Best CSR/Patronage Project went to Ford for their ‘24 Horas’ charity race.
There was also a prize for the Best Mobility Project, which was awarded to Passion Motorbike Factory and its ‘Scoobi Med’ initiative, a sustainable urban mobility vehicle for people and goods designed to offer solutions for last-mile deliveries. The award for the Best Human Resources Project, which recognises the work of humanising workplace environments in the automotive and servicing sector, went to Alsa for its ‘Master Driver’ project, whose aim is to foster continuous improvement among all its drivers, and finally the Honorary Prize was awarded to the Spanish Direct Line Foundation.
The Estrella LUIKE Motor trophies – reproductions of a sculpture by the Cádiz-born artist Luis Ortega Bru, depicting an athlete propelled by a wheel toward victory – also recognise the success of best-selling models, not only within the category of private cars and motorcycles, but also 4×4 vehicles, commercial vehicles, sports cars and alternative energy vehicles.
The winners of the remaining categories were:
- Best-selling sports car sold to private customers: Mazda MX-5
- Best-selling 4×4 car sold to private customers: Toyota Land Cruiser
- Best-selling SUV sold to private customers: Peugeot 3008
- Best-selling minivan sold to private customers: Citroen C4 Spacetourer
- Best-selling alternative fuel vehicle sold to private customers: Nissan Leaf
- Best-selling light commercial vehicle: Citroën Berlingo
- Alternative fuel vehicle for New Mobility: Renault Zoe
- Best-selling city car sold to private customers: Fiat 500
- Best-selling family car sold to private customers: Skoda Octavia
- Best-selling premium car sold to private customers: BMW 5 Series
The motorcycle sector was also represented at these awards. The winners, by category, were as follows:
- Best-selling electric motorcycle: Silence S02
- Best-selling off-road motorcycle: KTM EXC300
- Best-selling scooter: Honda SH125i
- Best-selling motorcycle: Kawasaki Z900