The annual Car of the Year Japan Award (日本カー・オブ・ザ・イヤー, nihon kā obu za iyā), also known as Japan Car of the Year (or JCOTY), is an annual Car of the Year award given for newly released or redesigned vehicles released in the car buying market in Japan in the twelve months beginning 1 November.
The award has been presented since 1980. The current recipient of the award for 2022 to 2023 is the Nissan Sakura/Mitsubishi eK X EV.[1]
The first non-Japanese car to win the award was the Volkswagen Golf in 2013, followed by the Volvo XC60 in 2017 and the Volvo XC40 in 2018.[2][3][4] The highest-placed car from the United States was the Jeep Cherokee, which was eliminated in the final round in 2014 and was placed eighth.[5] The supervisory board is made up primarily of Japanese automotive journalists.
The award is not associated with the more recent Automotive Researchers’ and Journalists’ Conference (RJC) RJC Car of the Year Award, which has been issued since 1992.
Recipients
edit| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1994–1995 | Mercedes-Benz C200 |
| 1995–1996 | MG F |
| 1996–1997 | Mercedes-Benz SLK |
| 1997–1998 | Renault Mégane Scénic |
| 1998–1999 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class |
| 1999–2000 | Rover 75 |
| 2000–2001 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2001–2002 | Alfa Romeo 147 |
| 2002–2003 | None |
| 2003–2004 | None |
| 2004–2005 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2005–2006 | BMW 3 Series |
| 2006–2007 | Citroën C6 |
| 2007–2008 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2008–2009 | Citroën C5 |
| 2009–2010 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2010–2011 | Volkswagen Polo |
| 2011–2012 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2012–2013 | BMW 3 Series |
| 2013–2014 | None |
| 2014–2015 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2015–2016 | BMW 2 Series Active Tourer/Gran Tourer |
| 2016–2017 | Audi A4 |
| 2017–2018 | None |
| 2018–2019 | None |
| 2019–2020 | BMW 3 Series |
| 2020–2021 | Peugeot 208/e-208 |
| 2021–2022 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2022–2023 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 |
| 2023-2024 | BMW X1 |
Most wins by manufacturer
edit| Total Wins | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 12 | Honda |
| 9 | Toyota |
| 6 | Mazda |
| 6 | Nissan |
| 5 | Mitsubishi |
| 2 | Subaru |
| Volvo | |
| 1 | Lexus |
| Volkswagen | |
| 1 | Hyundai |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Nissan Sakura Wins 2022–2023 Japan Car Of The Year Award & Kei Car Of The Year Award". cleantechnica.com. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ Radu, Mihnea (25 November 2013). "Volkswagen Golf Named Car of the Year in Japan". autoevolution.com. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Kavermann, David (12 December 2017). "Volvo XC60 crowned Japanese Car of the Year". driven.co.nz. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Laurel, Drei (12 December 2018). "The Volvo XC40 is 2018's Japan Car of the Year". topgear.com.ph. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ Tragianis, Nick (17 October 2014). "Jeep Cherokee nominated for Car of the Year award ... in Japan". driving.ca. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "TOYOTA SOARER NAMED JAPAN'S "CAR OF THE YEAR"". driving.ca. 23 December 1981. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ De Guzman, Marcus (13 October 2014). "All-new Mazda2/Demio wins the Japanese Car of The Year award". Autoindustriya.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ Turkus, Brandon (14 October 2014). "Mazda2 nets Japan Car of the Year, Cherokee first US model to ever crack top 10 [UPDATE]". autoblog.com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ Bijoux, Niles (11 December 2018). "Volvo takes back-to-back Japanese COTY award". www.autocar.co.nz. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ Redfern, John (9 December 2019). "Toyota RAV4 wins 2019 Car of the Year Japan award" (in Thai). www.motoringresearch.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ Braithwaite-Smith, Gavin (10 December 2020). "Subaru Levorg is Japan's Car of the Year". www.msn.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ "Nissan Note e-POWER Series Wins Japan Car of the Year 2021". 14 December 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.