Bangkok--12 Feb--Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide April 2007 marked the start of Volvo’s 80th anniversary year and is a milestone in a dazzling history of bringing a series of world first innovations in safety and environmental technology to the motoring public. As 2007 closed, the celebration continued with shower of worldwide awards and accolades. Among Volvo’s strong portfolio of luxurious, powerful and stunning cars, the all-new Volvo S80, Volvo S60 and all-new Volvo C30 Sport Coupe are perhaps the world’s most appreciated vehicles. The All-New Volvo S80, the second generation of highly acclaimed flagship prestige sedan, has been a record success globally since its Detroit worldwide debut in 2006. The car has already been awarded, to name but a few, Car of the Year for 2007, by the USA's premier Spanish-language automotive magazine AutoMundo, Car of the Year in New Zealand, fleet Car of the year in Austria, and the Best New Entry on the Russian market - largely beating its strong rivals like the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Lexus GS and Audi A6. More recently, the Malaysian Car of the Year awards created a special category for safety technology innovation recognising the blistering array of new technology brought to market in this car. Safety innovation is also recognised in, Volvo's XC90 SUV, C70 Convertible, and S80 Sedan, which for the past two years have all earned the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) top safety pick honours for vehicle safety in front, side, and rear impact crash protection. “From a great global reception, it has also received a huge response from Thai consumers since the launch in September, I am convinced that the all-new Volvo S80 will be a very strong contender in its class and win over many new and existing customers in years to come,” says Paul Stokes, President of Volvo Car (Thailand) Ltd. Lately at the “Annual Car of the Year Award” in Manila, The Philippines, the luxuriously stylish all-new Volvo S80 2.5T elegantly received the Luxury Car Award. The power packed Volvo S60 T5 brought home the Executive Car Award. All its 260 horses reared in pride as it galloped ahead of the BMW 320d, Chrysler 300C and Mercedes Benz C200! In the same event, the all-new Volvo C30 Sports Coup? zipped across all categories and brands and earned itself the ultimate honour of being this year’s Car of the Year as voted by the country’s distinguished Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI) which is composed of 26 media outfits. The all-new Volvo C30, which also won the Luxury Subcompact Category, is one of the world’s much-awaited compact cars that excited people and media around the world when it officially launched at the Paris Motor Show in September 2006. It is also the first car in the premium European segment that was accorded with this distinguished recognition. Special awards were also given to Volvo. The C30’s sexy flanks and swift curvaceous lines grabbed the judges’ attention thus gaining the Concept One Sexiest Car award. Volvo’s legacy of safety was again also recognised as the all-new Volvo S80’s intuitive safety technology was acknowledged as the Standard Insurance Best in Safety awardee. In Korea, the all-new Volvo C30, which competes with the Volkswagen Golf, Peugeot 207, 307, and BMW Mini Cooper, easily set itself apart from the competition to win Car of the Year title in the import car category by J-Motors Network. In Volvo's newest market, India, the Volvo XC90 has been awarded Car of the Year for Best Safety Technology by the Indian TV channel NDTV. The award was presented at the motor show in New Delhi in January - Auto Expo 2008 In Eastern Europe, the snow has thawed and the all-new Volvo C30 was voted most attractive design of all production cars by 24 independent Czech designers and motoring journalists who gave the top slot in the AutoDesign Awards 2007 to Volvo’s smallest model. And as if all this praise wasn't enough, the Volvo C30 sees in the change from "boxy to foxy" for Volvo's design language by receiving the title "Best Pint-size Performance" and a description which reads “Dances on the sporty side with its full-width glass hatch and clipped Manx bobtail" from the US Playboy Magazine which announced Car of the Year Awards in Chicago last December! “These awards are not merely titles but a recognition and reinforcement of the belief in Volvo’s stellar characteristics and the brand’s long-time dedication to producing a family of cars that upholds safety, quality, care for the environment and innovative design. It is Volvo’s promise to design cars that strives to make life better for our clients and offer a premium experience that everyone can enjoy. And for Thai customers, the wait will soon be over! The award-winning all-new Volvo C30 will be introduced officially to Thai market soon,” added Paul Stokes. Asked to comment on Volvo's performance locally in Thailand, Paul commented that ". . .in 2007, with a premium market segment down 11.3% year on year, Volvo sales actually saw an increase up some 35.7% or so, spurred on by introduction of the new D5 engine in both the worlds' most awarded luxury SUV, Volvo XC90 D5, the S60 D5 and also the launch of the all-new Volvo S80 here in Thailand, so we're all very pleased but there's still many more surprises and more success to come, I'm sure!"