An electric revolution (6 out of 7 finalists, with only one plug-in hybrid) and above all a decisive shift in the center of gravity of interest and judgment, with the first victory of a Korean brand (Kia) and the confirmation of this trend with the third place of the parent company Hyundai.
For 2022, the title of Car of the Year was awarded to the Kia EV6, the electric crossover which, at the end of the voting by 61 jurors from 23 different countries, obtained a total of 279 points.
In second place the brand new Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric with 265 points and in third the 'cousin' of the winner (as it uses the same platform) Hyundai Ioniq 5 with 261 points thus completing South Korea's triumph in this award.
REVIEW THE PROCLAMATION
This is the final classification
- Kia EV6: 279 points
- Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric: 265 points
- Hyundai Ioniq 5: 261 points
- Peugeot 308: 191 points
- Skoda Enyaq iV: 185 points
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: 150 points
- Cupra Born: 144 points
Note the excellent fourth place finish of the Peugeot 308 which brings to the attention the value of the possibility for the user to choose between petrol engine, diesel engine and plug-in hybrid propulsion system.
This short list of seven finalists - chosen on November 29th - was arrived at starting from a list of 39 cars selected for the first evaluation and which included many new features such as the Maserati MC20 supercar (representing the Stellantis Group with Peugeot 308) and the Chinese Aiways U5, a brand that is not yet well known in Europe - like the reborn MG - but which corresponds to the requirement to be on sale in at least five countries by the end of 2021. 16 electric models had been selected: the cited Aiways U5, the Audi Q4 e-Tron and e-Tron GT, the Bmw i4 and iX, the Cupra Born, the Dacia Spring,
Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Mercedes EQS, MG Marvel R, Renault Mégane E-Tech, Skoda Enyaq iV, Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4.
The specialized journalists of the COTY jury had been able to vote, in addition to the aforementioned MC20, the BMW 2 Series Coupé and 2 Series Active Tourer, the DS 4 and DS 9, the Honda HR-V, the Hyundai Bayon, the Lynk & Co 01, the Mercedes CLA and T-Class (together with cousin Renault Kangoo), Subaru Outback, Skoda Fabia, Nissan Qashqai, Opel Mokka, Peugeot 308, Renault Arkana, Toyota Yaris Cross and Highlander and Volkswagen Caddy and T7 Multivan .