2022 North American Car & Truck of the Year Awards: Which Models Will Win?
Automakers covet honors like the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) Awards. The awards carry a great deal of weight, and the winners receive positive publicity. Recently at the Motor Bella Auto Show in Michigan, NACTOY announced the 23 semifinalists for the awards. See what models are still in the running to win the awards.
2022 NACTOY Car of the Year Award
The 2022 NACTOY semifinalists for the Car of the Year Award include the Volkswagen Golf R and GTI, Lucid Air, Honda Civic, Genesis G70, Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, and Audi A3. Notable models that didn’t make the cut include the Karma GS-6, Maserati MC20, Toyota GR 86, and Subaru BRZ.
2022 NACTOY Truck of the Year Award
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The 2022 NACTOY semifinalists for the Truck of the Year Award include the Toyota Tundra, Rivian R1T, Nissan Frontier, Hyundai Santa Cruz, GMC Hummer EV, and Ford Maverick. The only truck from the list of candidates that didn’t make the cut is the Ford F-150 Raptor. With its groundbreaking design, the Rivian R1T should be a top contender. The redesigned Toyota Tundra is an attractive choice as well. Additionally, while the Hyundai Santa Cruz is not a typical rugged truck, it has many appealing characteristics.
2022 NACTOY Utility Vehicle of the Year Award
The third and final award is the Utility Vehicle of the Year. Semifinalists include the Volkswagen ID.4, Nissan Pathfinder, Kia Carnival, Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Genesis GV70, and Ford Bronco. The VW ID.4 already won the 2021 World Car of the Year award. This may make it the odds on favorite to win the NACTOY Utility Vehicle of the Year Award.
“This year’s group of semifinalists includes some of the most interesting and innovative cars, trucks, and utility vehicle candidates in recent memory. It features more electric vehicles than we’ve ever seen, all of which our jurors will continue to test and evaluate prior to our next vote.”
– Gary Witzenburg NACTOY President
When will the winners of the NACTOY Awards be announced?
After further testing and evaluation, NACTOY will announce three finalists for each vehicle category on November 17, 2021, at the LA Auto Show. In January 2022, NACTOY will announce the winners of the awards.
The winners of the 2021 NACTOY Awards were the Ford Mustang Mach-E (Utility Vehicle of the Year), Ford F-150 (Truck of the Year), and Hyundai Elantra (Car of the Year). With the Hyundai Santa Cruz, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Tucson, and Ford Maverick, both Hyundai and Ford have contenders for the 2022 NACTOY awards.
Volkswagen and Jeep are also well-represented for the semifinal round, with the Golf R, Golf GTI, and ID.4 for Volkswagen, and the Grand Cherokee and Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer for Jeep. Also, it’s worth noting that more electric vehicles made the semifinal round of the NACTOY awards than ever before. This includes the GMC Hummer EV, Rivan R1T, Hyundai Ioniq 5, VW ID.4, and Lucid Air.
Stay tuned to see which models end up winning the coveted 2022 North American Car & Truck of the Year Awards. With longtime favorites and many new electric models, it should shape up to be an intriguing competition.
