Coty

Car of The Year 2026, here are the seven finalists

They are, in alphabetical order, the Citroën C5 Aircross, the Dacia Bigster, the Fiat Grande Panda, the Kia EV4, the Mercedes-Benz CLA, the Renault 4 and the Skoda Elroq.

by Corrado Canali

31 October 2025

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Historic brands the most awarded by jurors
Winner will be announced on 9 January

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Car of the Year 2026 award is in its final squeeze. From the 36 models shortlisted in October, the 60 jury members from 24 countries who have been awarding the Model of the Year every year since 1964 have narrowed the choice down to seven cars that will compete in the final vote ahead of the announcement of the 2026 winner on 9 January at the Brussels Motor Show.

Here are the seven finalists, in strict alphabetical order: Citroen C5 Aircross, Dacia Bigster, Fiat Grande Panda, Kia EV4, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Renault 4 and Skoda Elroq. Among the excellent absentees missing from the roll-call is the Jeep Compass, which many considered to be the favourite, but also one of the many Chinese models selected this year. They will certainly make up for it.

Auto dell’anno, le sette finaliste
Photogallery7 foto

Historic brands the most awarded by the jurors

Citroen, Fiat, Renault and Skoda were the most chosen, with models such as the C5 Aircross, Grande Panda, 4 and Elroq respectively perhaps more popular as well as accessible to the general public. The Korean choice of the Hyundai group with the Kia EV4 was not lacking. Finally, two cars light years away like the Dacia Bigster and the Mercedes CLA.

The thirty-six cars selected were: Audi A6, A6 e-tron, Q5, Byd Atto 2, Dolphin Surf, Sealion 7, Citroen e-C3 and C5 Aircross, MG HS and S5, Dacia Bigster, DS N°8, Fiat Grande Panda, Hyundai Ioniq 9, Jeep Compass, Kia EV4, Lancia Ypsilon, Leapmotor C10, Mazda 6e, Mercedes CLA, Mini Aceman, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Leaf, Opel Frontera, Renault 4, Smart #5, Skoda Elroq, Suzuki e-Vitara&Toyota UrbanCriuser, Volvo ES90,Zeekr7X.

The winner will be announced on 9 January

It will be up to the members of the Car of the Year jury (of which I Sole 24 Ore is also a member) to identify the model capable of representing the best of this year's performance, based also on an initial market feedback. The appointment is now for 9 January on the eve of the opening of the Brussels Motor Show, where the winner of the Car of The Year 2026 will be officially proclaimed.