The Car of the Year 2025 (COTY) award, one of the most prestigious accolades in the automotive world, has unveiled its seven finalists. This year’s selection highlights that combustion engines are far from being on the decline, as recent years may have suggested. From a pool of 42 entries, 60 jurors from 23 European countries selected a balanced lineup featuring both electric vehicles and models with combustion engines—some even offering both options.

Seven finalists, three electric vehicles

The finalists include the Alfa Romeo Junior, Citroën C3, Cupra Terramar, Dacia Duster, Hyundai Inster, Kia EV3, and Renault 5 (including its sporty Alpine A290 version). While electric vehicles have dominated the finals in recent years, this year’s lineup is surprisingly balanced. Only three of the finalists are fully electric: the Hyundai Inster, Kia EV3, and Renault 5 E-Tech.

The remaining four models are either purely combustion-powered or come with electric variants. For example, the Alfa Romeo Junior and Citroën C3 offer customers a choice between traditional gasoline engines and electrified versions. Meanwhile, the Cupra Terramar and Dacia Duster stick to conventional combustion engines.

Final phase of evaluation

The final testing phase will take place in early January at the Mettet race circuit in Belgium. Jurors will assess driving characteristics, innovation, efficiency, and overall appeal of the vehicles. The results will be announced on January 10, 2025, during the opening of the Brussels Motor Show, where the European Car of the Year 2025 title will be awarded.

History of the award

The COTY competition has run continuously since 1964, with each edition bringing new trends and highlights. Last year, the title of Car of the Year 2024 went to the all-electric Renault Scenic, followed by the BMW 5 Series in second place and the Peugeot 3008 in third. Electric vehicles have often dominated in recent years; for instance, six out of seven finalists in 2022 were EVs.

Source:  COTY