THE Toyota Vios was named “Automobile of the Year” in the 2012-2013 Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards” (AFPCA) after the car—the country’s bestselling vehicle—topped the event’s nationwide public polling that was held from July to September.

The annual AFPCA, organized by Sunshine Television (STV), is now on its eighth edition and which for the first time incorporated unit sales as part of its selection process. STV said that the sales data used in the awards were furnished by Stradcom Corp. and were based on LTO records of completely built and brand-new imported vehicles.

The Vios—Toyota Motor Phils.’ most popular—bested 147 vehicles that were entered in the awards by the country’s manufacturers and distributors. STV cited the Toyota subcompact sedan’s January to September sales of more than 12,000 units and a consolidated sales/vote score of 7,246 points as factors in the Vios having taken the top plum.

“The purpose of combining online votes with unit sales in the AFPCA selection process was to better determine the actual preferences of car buyers and owners, and what would readily be apparent to most people on the road,” explained STV Chairman and chief executive Ray Butch Gamboa.

Besides having been voted Automobile of the Year, the Vios was also judged Model of the Year in the event’s subcompact category.