Acura, Ford, Kia take top honours in North American Car of the Year Awards

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The 2023 Acura Integra, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Kia EV6 have been named the top winners of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) Awards this year.

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The winners were determined by a jury of 50 automotive writers from Canada and the United States, who first selected a list of 47 eligible vehicles. Over three rounds of voting, these were winnowed down to 26 semi-finalists, then nine finalists, and finally the winners. The jurors meet an at event in Michigan to drive vehicles back-to-back and vote on their choices. To be eligible, a vehicle must be all-new or substantially changed for the model year.

The winners were announced by NACTOY at a special presentation in Pontiac, Michigan on January 11, 2023. Previously they’d been handed out prior to the opening of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which has moved from its traditional January dates to September.

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In the car category, the Acura Integra won over the Genesis G80 EV and Nissan Z in the final voting. For North American Truck of the Year, the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning won over the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 and Lordstown Endurance, an electric truck from a new U.S. manufacturer that so far has delivered a small number of vehicles to fleet customers. The Kia EV6 earned its trophy by defeating the Cadillac Lyriq and Genesis GV60, all of which are battery-powered.

In 2022, the winners were the Honda Civic for car, Ford Maverick for truck, and Ford Bronco for SUV. Vehicles are judged on a number of factors, including innovation, design, safety, driver satisfaction, and value. The independent jury is made up of writers working in print, online, radio, and television.

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The first NACTOY awards were handed out in 1994, and the organization said these are the longest-running new-vehicle awards that are not associated with a single publication. That first year, when only car and truck awards were given out, the winners were the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Dodge Ram pickup. SUV contenders were considered for the truck award in 2016, won by the Volvo XC90 over the Honda Pilot and Nissan Titan XD pickup. A third category specifically for SUVs was added the following year, won by the first iteration of the Chrysler Pacifica before the name was reused for the current minivan.

According to a poll taken during the NACTOY driving event in October 2022, the jurors predicted that electric vehicle (EV) sales will make up 25 per cent of all new-vehicle sales between 2027 and 2030, and 50 per cent of all sales some time between 2030 and 2035. They also predicted that 50 per cent of all new vehicles eligible for NACTOY voting will be electric by 2024 or 2025. For the 2023 awards, 40 per cent of eligible vehicles were battery-powered.