North American Car of the Year

Last updated March 02, 2025

The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year are a set of automotive awards announced at a news conference each January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The jury consists of no more than 60 automotive journalists from the US and Canada.^[1]

History

In 2016, a board of directors was created and the award became a 501 6(c) corporation. The new Board consists of: Mark Phelan, President; Matt DeLorenzo, Vice President; and Lauren Fix, Secretary / Treasurer.

For 2017 a new category was added to this award: Utility, with the Chrysler Pacifica the first winner.

List of nominees and winners

For each award and year, the winner is shown at the top in bold, with the other finalists in italics in a bulleted list below.

1994–1999

Year	Car	Truck	Ref
1994	Mercedes-Benz C-Class Chevrolet Camaro Toyota Supra	Dodge Ram Chevrolet S-10 GMC Sonoma Land Rover Discovery	^[2]
1995	Chrysler Cirrus Ford Contour Oldsmobile Aurora	Chevrolet Blazer Ford Explorer Ford Windstar
1996	Chrysler minivans Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable Mercedes-Benz E-Class	Ford F-150 GMC Yukon/Chevrolet Tahoe Land Rover Range Rover
1997	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class Jaguar XK8 BMW 5 Series	Ford Expedition Dodge Dakota Toyota RAV4
1998	Chevrolet Corvette Audi A6 Lexus GS	Mercedes-Benz M-Class Dodge Durango Subaru Forester
1999	Volkswagen New Beetle Honda Odyssey Chrysler 300M	Jeep Grand Cherokee Chevrolet Silverado GMC Sierra

2000–2016

Year	Car	Truck	Ref
2000	Ford Focus Audi TT Lincoln LS	Nissan Xterra Dodge Dakota Toyota Tundra
2001	Chrysler PT Cruiser Honda Insight Toyota Prius	Acura MDX Ford Escape Toyota Sequoia
2002	Nissan Altima Ford Thunderbird Cadillac CTS	Chevrolet TrailBlazer Chevrolet Avalanche Jeep Liberty
2003	Mini Cooper Infiniti G35 Nissan 350Z	Volvo XC90 Hummer H2 Honda Element Nissan Murano
2004	Toyota Prius Mazda RX-8 Cadillac XLR	Ford F-150 Nissan Titan Cadillac SRX
2005	Chrysler 300 Chevrolet Corvette Ford Mustang	Ford Escape Hybrid Ford Freestyle Land Rover LR3
2006	Honda Civic Ford Fusion Pontiac Solstice	Honda Ridgeline Ford Explorer Nissan Xterra
2007	Saturn Aura Toyota Camry Honda Fit	Chevrolet Silverado Ford Edge Mazda CX-7
2008	Chevrolet Malibu Cadillac CTS Honda Accord	Mazda CX-9 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid Buick Enclave
2009	Hyundai Genesis Ford Flex Volkswagen Jetta TDI	Ford F-150 Dodge Ram Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC
2010	Ford Fusion Hybrid Buick LaCrosse Volkswagen Golf	Ford Transit Connect Chevrolet Equinox Subaru Outback
2011	Chevrolet Volt Hyundai Sonata Nissan Leaf	Ford Explorer Dodge Durango Jeep Grand Cherokee	^[3]
2012	Hyundai Elantra Ford Focus Volkswagen Passat	Land Rover Range Rover Evoque BMW X3 Honda CR-V
2013	Cadillac ATS Ford Fusion Honda Accord	Ram 1500	^[4]
2014	Chevrolet Corvette Stingray	Chevrolet Silverado	^[5]
2015	Volkswagen Golf Mk7	Ford F-150	^[6]
2016	Honda Civic	Volvo XC90

2017–present

Beginning with the 2017 awards, the Truck of the Year category was divided, creating a new Utility Vehicle of the Year category.

Year	Car	Utility	Truck	Ref
2017	Chevrolet Bolt Genesis G90 Volvo S90	Chrysler Pacifica Jaguar F-Pace* Mazda CX-9*	Honda Ridgeline Ford F Super Duty Nissan Titan	^[7]
2018	Honda Accord Kia Stinger * Toyota Camry*	Volvo XC60* Alfa Romeo Stelvio Honda Odyssey	Lincoln Navigator Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Ford Expedition
2019	Genesis G70* Honda Insight Volvo S60/V60*	Hyundai Kona Acura RDX Jaguar I-Pace*	Ram 1500 Chevrolet Silverado GMC Sierra
2020	Chevrolet Corvette Hyundai Sonata* Toyota Supra	Kia Telluride* Hyundai Palisade Lincoln Aviator	Jeep Gladiator Ford Ranger RAM Heavy Duty	^[6]
2021	Hyundai Elantra Genesis G80 Nissan Sentra	Ford Mustang Mach-E * Genesis GV80 Land Rover Defender	Ford F-150 Jeep Gladiator Mojave Ram TRX	^[8]
2022	Honda Civic Lucid Air Volkswagen Golf R/GTI	Ford Bronco Hyundai Ioniq 5 Genesis GV70	Ford Maverick Rivian R1T Hyundai Santa Cruz
2023	Acura Integra Genesis Electrified G80 Nissan Z	Kia EV6 Cadillac Lyriq Genesis GV60	Ford F-150 Lightning Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Lordstown Endurance
2024	Toyota Prius/Prius Prime Honda Accord Hyundai Ioniq 6	Kia EV9 * Genesis Electrified GV70 Hyundai Kona/Kona EV *	Ford Super Duty Chevrolet Colorado Chevrolet Silverado EV
2025	Honda Civic Hybrid Kia K4 Toyota Camry	Volkswagen ID. Buzz Chevrolet Equinox EV Hyundai Santa Fe	Ford Ranger Ram 1500 Toyota Tacoma

*Vehicle was nominated for World Car of the Year; underlining indicates the vehicle won.

References

↑ "About NACTOY". North American Car of the Year (official website). Retrieved 2015-10-10.
↑ "NACTOY Winners & Finalists - North American Car/Truck/Utility Vehicle of the Year". North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
↑ "Volt wins Car of the Year; Explorer takes top truck | Detroit Free Press". freep.com. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
↑ "Cadillac ATS, Ram 1500 named North American Car and Truck/Utility of the year". Autoblog.com . 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
↑ "Chevrolet Sweeps 2014 NACTOY Awards". General Motors . 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
1 2 "North American Car of the Year". 2015-01-13. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
↑ Gardner, Paula (2017-01-09). "Here are the 2017 North American car, truck & utility vehicles of the year". MLive . Retrieved 2023-10-29.
↑ "NACTOY Reveals Winners of the 2021 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle™ of the Year". 11 January 2021.

External links

Official website

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[1] "About NACTOY". North American Car of the Year (official website). Retrieved 2015-10-10.

[2] "NACTOY Winners & Finalists - North American Car/Truck/Utility Vehicle of the Year". North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year. Retrieved 2023-01-10.

[3] "Volt wins Car of the Year; Explorer takes top truck | Detroit Free Press". freep.com. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-11-26.

[4] "Cadillac ATS, Ram 1500 named North American Car and Truck/Utility of the year". Autoblog.com . 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2013-01-14.

[5] "Chevrolet Sweeps 2014 NACTOY Awards". General Motors . 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2015-01-16.

[nactoy-6] 1 2 "North American Car of the Year". 2015-01-13. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2015-01-13.

[7] Gardner, Paula (2017-01-09). "Here are the 2017 North American car, truck & utility vehicles of the year". MLive . Retrieved 2023-10-29.

[8] "NACTOY Reveals Winners of the 2021 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle™ of the Year". 11 January 2021.

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