This morning at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, the nine finalists for the 2022 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards were announced. Finalists included some usual suspect automakers like Honda, Volkswagen, Ford, and Hyundai, but this year included upstarts Lucid and Rivian.
A jury of 50 automotive journalists (including our own editor in chief Jodi Lai) from across Canada and the U.S. vote on new or substantially changed vehicles that have been launched this year. Criteria include innovation, safety, performance, technology, satisfaction, and value. The overall winners will be announced in January.
In the Car of the Year category, the three finalists were the all-new Honda Civic, the electric Lucid Air, and the all-new Volkswagen Golf, which includes both the eighth-generation GTI and Golf R.
Truck of the Year finalists saw the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz compact pickups as well as the all-electric Rivian R1T pickup.
Utility of the Year finalists were the Ford Bronco off-roader, the Genesis GV70 luxury crossover, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV.
“These nine vehicles represent an unusually excellent and diverse group of finalists,” said NACTOY president Gary Witzenburg. “From new OEMs to vehicles that have created fresh segments in their categories, these vehicles showcase the automotive industry’s current diversification. This year’s finalists also illustrate how many more electric vehicles are becoming available to customers across multiple vehicle types.”
