The Toyota Prius has been selected  2005 Car of the Year by the European Car of the Year jury.

It beat out other finalists from manufacturers including Ford, Peugeot and BMW.

While hybrids are getting an enormous amount of publicity in the US, their sales  in Europe are much less than in the US. Diesels currently make up 40 percent of auto sales in Europe

Mr. Tadashi Arashima, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Marketing Europe said "We are absolutely delighted to receive the 2005 Car of the Year award
for Prius. We believe that hybrid technology, in particular as implemented in the Prius with our revolutionary Hybrid Synergy Drive system, represents a big step forward in reducing the environmental impact of automobiles,
while at the same time enhancing driving performance."