The Korean Automobile Journalists Association conducted the second round of evaluations for the 2023 Car of the Year from January 13 (Friday) to January 19 (Thursday), focusing on 36 vehicles from 17 brands released in the second half of last year. As a result, 19 vehicles from 13 brands, both domestic and imported, have advanced to the final evaluation stage.
The vehicles that passed the second-round evaluation include two models each from Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Hyundai (brand names listed in alphabetical order). Kia, Renault Korea, Volvo, Ssangyong Motor, Audi, Jeep, and Peugeot each had one model qualify.
In the Car of the Year category, the qualifying vehicles include the Kia EV6 GT, Land Rover All-New Range Rover, Renault Korea XM3 E-TECH Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz The New EQE, BMW 7 Series, Ssangyong Motor Torres, Audi The New Audi Q4 e-tron, Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai The All-New Grandeur, and Ioniq 6, totaling 10 models.
For the SUV of the Year category, the Kia EV6 GT, Land Rover All-New Range Rover, Renault Korea XM3 E-TECH Hybrid, Ssangyong Motor Torres, and Volkswagen ID.4 have confirmed their positions in the finals. In the Utility category, the Volvo V60 Cross Country has advanced to the final evaluation.
With the increasing launch of eco-friendly electric vehicles each year, the EV of the Year category has five contenders: Kia EV6 GT, Mercedes-Benz The New EQE, BMW i7, Volkswagen ID.4, and Hyundai Ioniq 6, which will compete in the final evaluation.
The Korean Automobile Journalists Association selects and announces the best car in South Korea through a three-stage evaluation process for new vehicles released in the country, including the first half, second half, and final evaluations. The evaluation is divided into eight categories: Car of the Year, Domestic Car (or Imported Car) of the Year, SUV of the Year, Utility of the Year, Design of the Year, Performance of the Year, EV of the Year, and Innovation of the Year. Each of the 55 member companies (media outlets) of the association has one vote per company to evaluate the vehicles.
The association’s Car of the Year Selection Committee announces the Car of the Month every month, and vehicles selected as Car of the Month receive a special privilege to move directly to the final evaluation without going through the first and second rounds.
The final evaluation for the 2023 Car of the Year will be conducted online from January 26 (Thursday) to January 31 (Tuesday), and the vehicles that pass this phase will undergo real-world evaluations at the Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s automobile safety research center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on February 8 (Wednesday). The awards ceremony for Car of the Year will take place at the convention hall on the second floor of Sevit Island in Banpo, Seoul, on February 22 (Wednesday) evening.
Lee Seung-yong, the president of the Korean Automobile Journalists Association, emphasized, “In the fierce competition among car brands for the title of South Korea’s best car, we will conduct evaluations more fairly and rigorously than ever before, and we will strive to provide accurate information about new cars to consumers through this Car of the Year review.”
Please contact Lee Sang-jin at daedusj@autodiary.kr