The FIAT Ducato has been named overall "Van of the Year", along with its PSA sister vehicles, the Peugeot Boxer and Citroen Relay, in the inaugural Association of Professional Motoring Press (APMP) Car and Van of the Year Awards at a gala event held in the Powerscourt Hotel in Co. Wicklow.

The trio also claimed the "Panel Van of the Year" segment title on its way to the overall title.

Competing vans were judged on a number of key points, including practicality, efficiency, safety, payload and load volume, value-for-money, ease of use and, of course, running costs.

The members of the APMP Car and Van of the Year Awards judging panel are amongst the most respected motoring writers in Ireland, representing 45 well-known publications across all media, including national and regional print media, TV, radio, blogs and websites.

The APMP has amongst its ranks several experienced commercial vehicle journalists, including the current International Van of the Year Chairperson, Jarlath Sweeney, who noted that the new Ducato was "major evolution", while Gerry Murphy commented that the "functional improvements are impressive". Tony Toner was impressed that the Ducato "improved the driver's lot and that of the owner in equal measure" and Paul White described the new Ducato as "very easy to drive strong list of options and safety equipment."

Commenting on the win, APMP Chairperson Michael Sherdian noted: "Our specialist van jurors were thoroughly impressed with Ducato and it beat off strong competition to not only win its category but the overall APMP Van of the Year 2015 title."

Gerry Clarke, Country Director FIAT Group Automobiles Ireland, commented: "It's not by accident that over six generations the FIAT Ducato has managed to notch up 2.6 million sales. It set new standards of space- and fuel- efficiency when it was first launched in 1981 and, as the APMP Van of the Year 2015 award proves, it continues to set the segment benchmark today - not only here in Ireland but also in the 80 international regions in which it is now on sale."

The sixth-generation of the multi award-winning FIAT Ducato was launched recently in Ireland, offering a sophisticated car-like design combined with more versatility, efficiency and robustness than ever before. Under the bonnet, FIAT Professional has worked on reducing emissions and improving economy by around 10 percent and now boasts best-in-class efficiency figures, with CO2 emissions for the entry-level 2.3 MultiJet II 110hp of just 170g/km and fuel economy of 6.4L/100km on the NEDC cycle. Prices for the FIAT Ducato in Ireland start at €17,600 excluding VAT.