BMW 3 Series becomes the Asian Car of the Year 2013. Photo xevathethao.vn

HCM City (Biz Hub) — BMW Euro Auto, the official importer of BMW cars in Viet Nam, has received the "Asian Car of the Year 2013" award, given to the BMW 3 Series by Autocar magazine, the world's oldest car magazine.

It competed against a short list of 59 cars, which was then cut to 5 contenders. The panel of judges included 18 highly respected car experts based in Asia.

Nguyen Van Trung, executive editor of Autocar Vietnam Magazine, said at the recent awards ceremony in HCM City: "The Series 3 is striking in design and has a powerful engine".

For a car to qualify for the award, it must be on sale in at least three of the nine Asian countries in which Autocar is published. These are China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Also, its launch date must have fallen between October 2011 and September 2012. Other criteria include: best car for Asian consumers, fuel-savings and eco-friendliness.

The award was also given to the LWB (long wheelbase) version.

Since 2012, Autocar has given the award to honor the contribution of car manufacturers for the Asian market. — VNS