Beating out a group of hybrid and electric cars including the all-electric Nissan LEAF, the Ford Fiesta, and the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, the Chevy Volt has been named the 2011 Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal.

The news comes on the same day Chevy announced a $40 million clean energy investment and just two days after the Volt took home the prestigious 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year honors and

"The Green Car of the Year award validates the Chevrolet team’s promise to deliver a practical electric vehicle,” said Joel Ewanick, VP, U.S. Marketing, General Motors. “The Volt’s a transformational technology that will lead our industry into a new age of vehicle electrification.”

It's one thing to be named Car of the Year by the most prestigious automobile magazine in the world, but to have that same car named the Green Car of the Year is something entirely different.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. “The electric vehicles that were test marketed in the 1990s tantalized us, but were without a solid business case. What a difference a decade makes. Now, Chevrolet has stepped up with an all-encompassing package in its Volt extended range electric car – a car deserving of the title 2011 Green Car of the Year."

The Chevy Volt, which began rolling out of GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant last week are due to begin arriving at dealerships in early December.