BEVs Might Win North American Car, Truck, Utility Vehicle Of The Year

Strong electric contenders were listed among the 2022 award finalists.

2022 Rivian R1T

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Nov 18, 2021 at 10:04am ET

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Nine finalists of the 2022 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards were announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Among them EVs... more than ever - one in each of the three categories, with a significant chance to win.

In the car category, we can see the recently launched Lucid Air, which just won the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year award. The highly technologically advanced battery-electric car with more than 500 miles of range will have to beat the latest generation of the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf.

In the truck category, we can see the Rivian R1T - the first modern battery-electric pickup truck that entered series production with state-of-the-art battery technology that allows for more than 300 miles of range (a 400-mile version is in the pipeline) and very capable quad motor all-wheel drive system. The other two models in this category are Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz.

The third BEV is the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is listed in the Utility category, together with the Ford Bronco and Genesis GV70. We guess that the Ioniq 5 is considered mainly due to its power-export feature: vehicle-to-load (V2L), ready to provide up to 3.5 kW of power (at 110/220V depending on the market). You can even give a little bit of charge another car with that.

Lucid Air Dream Edition

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 charging

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

The finalists for each category, in alphabetical order, are:

North American Car of the Year:

Honda Civic
Lucid Air
Volkswagen Golf Mk VIII (Golf R/Golf GTI)

North American Truck of the Year:

Ford Maverick
Hyundai Santa Cruz
Rivian R1T

North American Utility Vehicle of the Year:

Ford Bronco
Genesis GV70
Hyundai IONIQ 5

According to the offocial info, the final voting will take place Dec. 30 - Jan. 5, 2022, and the 2022 NACTOY Car, Truck and Utility of the Year winners will be announced in early January.

NACTOY president Gary Witzenburg said:

“These nine vehicles represent an unusually excellent and diverse group of finalists. From new OEMs to vehicles that have created fresh segments in their categories, these vehicles showcase the automotive industry’s current diversification. This year’s finalists also illustrate how many more electric vehicles are becoming available to customers across multiple vehicle types.”

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Here is how the NACTOY works:

"NACTOY’s awards are determined through a series of three votes by a group of 50 automotive journalists from an array of magazines, newspapers, websites, and television and radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1994, the NACTOY awards are the longest-running new vehicle awards not associated with a single outlet."

"The jurors, who have tested and evaluated eligible new or substantially changed vehicles that launched this year, vote for their choices based on elements including automotive innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value.

The jury votes were tallied and audited by Deloitte. The selection of nine finalists is the second-to-last step in the year-long evaluation process for the three awards before the final jury vote and the announcement of the winners in January."