Autocar's sister site 'What Car?' recently launched a new set of awards that will now occur annually. The 'Electric Car Awards' were formed in partnership with Myenegi due to a noticeable ramp up in online interest related to EVs that started during . 

Autocar says once lockdown restrictions began to slow down, 26 percent of its audience members admitted they were more likely to move forward with the purchase of an electric vehicle. The uptick in EV ownership was traced to people's Infographic: How Exactly Is COVID-19 Impacting The Environment?, which accelerated due in part to the coronavirus. 'What Car?' admits its website stories related to EVs surged during the recent period and received much more attention than other articles.

According to What Car's editor Steve Huntingford:

“Our goal has always been to help people buy the best car for their needs and budget, but it became clear that the booming number of new EVs and PHEVs, combined with the intricacies of some of the new technology associated with owning and charging these cars, was causing confusion."

The publication came up with 16 categories to best help a variety of EV shoppers with different budgets and priorities. Interestingly, 12 different brands received an award, with Tesla, Porsche, Kia, and BMW each receiving two. 'What Car?' will reveal its best overall electric and plug-in hybrid cars next January 2021 at its annual Car of the Year Awards. The current categories and winners are as follows:

Electric Cars:

Value car: Seat Mii Electric 36.8kWh

Small car: Peugeot e-208 Allure Premium

Family car: Hyundai Ioniq Electric Premium

Family SUV: Kia e-Niro 64kWh 3

Luxury SUV: Jaguar I-Pace EV400 S

Executive car: Tesla Model 3 Performance

Performance car: Porsche Taycan 4S

Seven-seater: Tesla Model X (7 seat)

Plug-In Hybrids

Family car: Mercedes A-Class A250e AMG Line

Small SUV: Kia Niro PHEV 1.6 GDi 3

Large SUV: Ford Kuga PHEV 2.5 PHEV Titanium

Luxury SUV: BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport 

Estate car: Skoda Superb Estate iV SE Technology

Executive car: BMW 3 Series 330e M Sport

Performance car: Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid

Seven-seater: Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 Inscription

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