For the fifth time in a row, the Car of the Year in Germany (GCOTY) has been taken by an all-electric car in the absolute category. This time the award went to the Hyundai IONIQ 5, a totally new model born as 100% electric. Not only that, it is the winner of the «New Energy» category, reserved for pure electric or hydrogen fuel cell.
In the compact class (less than 25,000 euros) the Peugeot 308 won. In the “Premium” category (25,000 to 50,000 euros) another member of the house took the prize, the Kia EV6, of similar conception to the IONIQ. Another electric won a prize in the «Luxury» category (more than 50,000 euros and a certain volume), the Audi e-tron GT, relative of the Porsche Taycan. As for the high-performance model, “Performance”, the Porsche 911 GT3 is the rightful winner.
It must be remembered that in the 2021 edition the absolute winner was the Honda E, in 2020 it was the Porsche taycan, in 2019 the Jaguar I-PACE, and in 2018 it was the Polestar 2. Of course we can affirm that the juries of the German car of the year are not at all closed to rewarding the new and the audacious, even to the detriment of their native manufacturers.
For those who do not know them, the GCOTY awards -o Das Deutsche Auto Des Jahres in German – they are awarded by the German-speaking specialized press. More than 20 journalists participate in the jury who vote secretly to hinder possible transits of briefcases. The voting process is audited by Aitastic AG, organizers say.
Yesterday we saw the list of candidates to win the Car of the Year 2022 in Europe, and we found 16 100% electric candidates, a representation above what corresponds to market share or popularity, but which is open to the fresh air that they bring to the car the latest generation of electric cars. There are both designed like this from the beginning (dedicated platforms) and conversions of thermal models or with mixed platforms.
For its part, Hyundai is adding to the list of trophies that the IONIQ 5 is taking, soon to be updated, and with a not inconsiderable sales volume considering that it is not yet available in North America, more than 50,000 units. Thus, when it is, it will be eligible for the Car of the Year on the other side of the pond. Also, the UK Auto Express magazine named him “Car of the Year 2021” in July.
