The North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards for 2024 have just been presented at a ceremony in Detroit. The Toyota Prius, Ford Super Duty, and Kia EV9 were the big winners, taking home the trophies at the 30th anniversary of the automotive award.
This year's awards program started in July with a list of 52 eligible vehicles. That's every car, truck, and SUV that was new or substantially changed for the model year. The field was trimmed first to 25, which were announced in September, and then to nine finalists, which were announced at the L.A. Auto Show in November.
About 50 expert automotive journalists from Canada and the U.S. drove and then voted on the vehicles. The list of jurors includes AutoTrader Editor-in-Chief Jodi Lai.
The other two finalists for the 2024 North American Car of the Year were the Honda Accord and the Hyundai Ioniq 6. The latter replaced the Volvo EX30 in the top three after it was announced the Volvo would not reach customers in time to be eligible. The other finalists for Truck of the Year were the Chevrolet Colorado and Chevrolet Silverado EV, and in the Utility Vehicle of the Year category, the runners-up were the Genesis Electrified GV70 and Hyundai Kona/Kona EV.
“Our winners reflect the fact that a modern vehicle must be a combination of style, utility and technology,” said NACTOY President Jeff Gilbert. “I commend our 50 jurors for coming up with some excellent choices.”
This year marks Ford's fourth win in a row for North American Truck of the Year, after the F-150 Lightning won last year, the Maverick the year before, and the F-150 in 2021.
"Ford’s F-Series Super Duty pickups embody the concept 'a workhorse and a show horse.' Equally suited to construction sites and towing million-dollar trailers, it’s loaded with technology to simplify its chores and keep the driver comfortable," juror Mark Phelan said about the truck.
It is also the second win in a row for Kia in the Utility category after the EV6 won last year.
"The Kia EV9 offers a genuine three-row configuration in a battery-electric SUV at a price significantly below the six-figure tab for all other three-row electric SUVs. It opens new territory for EVs, and its looks draw attention well before anyone finds out it’s electric. And it’ll be built in the U.S. within a year. Another home run for Kia," juror John Voelcker said about the family-friendly large electric SUV.
Toyota's 2024 Car of the Year win with the Prius is the brand's first win since the second-generation Prius won the award 20 years ago. The latest version of Toyota's hybrid adds style to go with its high-tech underpinnings and the Prime plug-in hybrid version offers a more usable electric range.
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