Nine Finalists Selected for 2025 Vehicle of the Year Honors

The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards organization has named three cars, three trucks and three utility vehicles to its list of 2025 finalists. The announcement was made at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where a selection of NACTOY finalists and many other new vehicles were displayed.

“Every year, among a crowded field of new and updated models, a few well-designed and well-made vehicles truly stand out as award worthy,” the organization noted in a press release announcing the finalists, including:

CAR OF THE YEAR

• Honda Civic Hybrid
• Kia K4
• Toyota Camry

TRUCK OF THE YEAR

• Ford Ranger
• Ram 1500
• Toyota Tacoma

UTILITY VEHICLE OF THE YEAR

• Chevrolet Equinox EV
• Hyundai Santa Fe
• Volkswagen ID. Buzz

“The competition for these awards will be fierce this year,” said Jeff Gilbert, NACTOY president, who is also the automotive reporter for WWJ Radio in Detroit. “We have a well-balanced crop of EVs, hybrids and gasoline-powered vehicles. It will be hard to narrow each category down to just one winner—they’re all great choices.”

The vehicles were voted on by 50 respected automotive journalists who produce content for a variety of print, broadcast and digital media in the U.S. and Canada. While evaluation criteria include outstanding innovation, design, performance, driver satisfaction and value, each juror has their own method for assessing vehicles, the release noted.

Jurors will continue evaluating the finalist vehicles over the coming weeks and cast their ballots for the winners before the end of the year. Award recipients will be announced on Jan. 10 as part of the kickoff for the media days of the Detroit Auto Show.

NACTOY awards are intended to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year as benchmarks in their segments, based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, user experience and value.