Car of The Year 2026

Car of the Year 2026, there is the preliminary list of thirty candidate cars. Here are the competing models

The award's organising committee is already at work with the aim of arriving at seven finalists in October for the final proclamation in January

20 June 2025

2' min read

The jury of the Car of the year, having now filed in January the awarding of the 2025 title to the new Renault 5 and Alpine A290, has begun the journey of the complex organisational machine with a view to the 2026 title that will be awarded in January next year. The initial element is the creation of the list of candidate cars, which grows month by month.

No restyling or body variants on the list

Only new-generation cars launched on the market in 2025 are eligible to participate. On the other hand, cars that have only undergone restyling or bodywork or engine variants of existing models are not eligible to participate. The organising committee counts, for the moment, thirty of those eligible to take part in the pre-selections

The seven finalists announced in October

By the end of October, the announcement of the seven finalists will be made. At the beginning of December, the committee will organise test drives for the jurors of the seven candidates for the title, and by the end of December the voting for the seven finalists will be completed, pending the final proclamation, which, again for next year, is scheduled for January.

A changing selection month by month

On the preliminary list of 30 models are three Audis, the A6, A6 e-tron and Q5, as well as three Byds, the Atto 2, Dolphin Surf and Sealion 7. Two Citroens, the e-C3 Aircross and C5 Aircross, as well as the MG HS and S5. They are joined by the Dacia Bigster, the DS No. 8, the Fiat Grande Panda, the Hyundai Ioniq 9, the Jeep Compass, the Kia EV4, the new Lancia Ypsilon, the Leapmotor C10 and the Mazda 6e and others.

Some reflections based on today's 30

Also in the group of 30 predicted cars are the new Mercedes CLA, the Mini Aceman, the Mitsubishi Outlander, the Nissan Leaf, the Opel Frontera, the Renault 4, the Smart #5, the Skoda Elroq, the Suzuki eVitara and the Toyota Urban Criuser. The Volvo ES90 and the Zeekr 7X round off the 30 papelas. A few considerations might fit.

On the list is the new Jeep Compass and it is worth noting that the fastest growing in attendance are the Chinese brands: eight out of thirty today. Better even than the Japanese, stopped at five, and the Koreans only two.

Stellantis the most represented group

The most represented group is Stellantis with 7 models, 2 of which are Italian, the Fiat Grande Punto and the new Lancia Ypsilon. This is followed by 4 Volkswagen group presences, 3 of which are Audis. Only one Mini model, the Aceman, represents the Bmw group. And as in 2025, there is still one more double nomination on the list, Suzuki eVitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser.

The title at Renault in the last two years

Leader in winning the title of Car of the Year was in the last two-year period, 2024-2025 the Renault group with the Scenic E-Tech Electric first and the year after the combination Renault 5 E-Tech Electric and Alpine A290. In today's thirty candidates there are for now two models of the group, the Dacia Bigster and the Renault 4. Had Luca de Meo still been there as ceo, he could have celebrated a hat-trick.