The all-electric Nissan Leaf has just been awarded European Car of the Year for 2011. It’s the first time the award has gone to an electric vehicle this year.

Judging the award were 57 automotive journalists from 23 different European countries. They rated the Nissan Leaf highly giving it 257 points. Coming in second place was the Alfa Romeo Giulietta with 248 points and the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva coming in third place with 244 points.

Nissan, of course, was thrilled to win the award, which CEO Carlos Ghosn said, “recognizes the pioneering zero-emission Nissan Leaf as competitive to conventional cars in terms of safety, performance, spaciousness and handling.”

Other finalists included, the Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max which was awarded 224 points, the Citroen C3/DS3 – awarded 175 points, the Volvo S60 and V60 – awarded 145 points, and the Dacia Duster which was awarded 132 points.

It’s the 47th year the award ceremony has taken place, with Nissan last picking up the award in 1993 with its Nissan Micra.

Nissan plans to produce 250,000 Leafs per year, and will go on sale in the Japanese and US markets in December joining the European market.

Adapted from CarAdvice

Beating out a field of over 30 rival cars, the Volkswagen Polo 5 has been voted Europe’s Car of the Year – the first victory for VW in 18 years.

The supermini narrowly beat the Toyota iQ in the final voting, earning 347 points versus 337. The Polo received 59 scoring votes in total from the 59-strong judging panel, including 25 selections as the number one car. In contrast, the iQ received 58 votes, with 20 selections as the best car.

The result is determined from a list of 33 new cars, which are voted on by European car journalists.

A shortlist of seven cars is then determined, with 59 European judges making their selection. Each judge has 25 points to allocate as they see fit, although at least five contenders must receive points, and the chosen winner must receive more points than the runners-up.

Last year’s winner was the Opel Insignia, also sold in the UK as the Vauxhall Insignia and the US as the Buick Regal. There are no plans to offer the Insignia in South Africa.

The full list of results is below. (Click to expand)

In Europe, engine options include 1,2 and 1,4-litre petrol engines, and a turbocharged 1,2-litre TSI petrol engine. A new 1,6-litre TDI common rail diesel engine is also offered.

The new Polo is scheduled to arrive in South Africa in the first quater of next year. Specific dates, local pricing and engine options have not yet been revealed.