2023 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards finalists announced at LA Auto Show

The Cadillac Lyriq is one of three finalists for the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. (Jason Rzucidlo/AmericaJR)

LOS ANGELES – The finalists that will compete for the 2023 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year™ (NACTOY) Awards were announced today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Earlier this year, 26 vehicles were voted semifinalists from an initial field of 47 eligible vehicles, and a second vote by NACTOY’s 50 jurors determined the nine finalists following an extensive test-drive and evaluation period. The jurors vote based on elements including automotive innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction, user experience and value.

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

North American Car of the Year™:

Acura Integra
Genesis G80 EV
Nissan Z

North American Truck of the Year™:

Chevrolet Silverado ZR2
Ford F-150 Lightning
Lordstown Endurance

North American Utility Vehicle of the Year™:

Cadillac Lyriq
Genesis GV60
Kia EV6

“Our nine finalists for 2023 represent a diverse cross-section of this year’s best new vehicles, ranging from sports cars to powerful pickups to three electric utility vehicles – which is the first time in our history that all three finalists in a specific category are battery-electric,” said NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg. “Our jurors drew on their deep industry expertise and unique testing and evaluation techniques to narrow the field from 26 semifinalists to three vehicles in each category, which include a record-breaking six electric vehicles. The NACTOY board is grateful to our 50 hard-working jurors for their time and dedication as we head toward our final vote and winners event in January.”

—video by NACTOY

During NACTOY’s test-drive and evaluation event in October, more than two dozen jurors participated in an informal poll which offered insights into automotive topics such as electrification and production issues. Below are some key takeaways from the results:

NACTOY jurors predict EVs will make up 10% of new vehicle sales between either 2023-2025 or 2025-2027 (equal vote), 25% of new vehicle sales between 2027-2030 and 50% of new vehicle sales between 2030-2035.
- NACTOY jurors also predict 2024 or 2025 will be the first year when 50% of vehicles eligible for a NACTOY award will be electric. Of this year’s eligible new vehicles, 40% were electric.
- Most NACTOY jurors chose public charging limitations as the reason most buyers are not choosing EVs, followed by EV misinformation and vehicle cost, respectively.
New car prices keep hitting record highs. NACTOY jurors predict the average new car price will continue to increase and buyers will hold onto their vehicles longer to compensate.
NACTOY jurors predict supply chain and production issues caused by the pandemic will be mostly resolved by 2024

NACTOY’s awards are unique because they are not decided by a single publication. Instead, they are evaluated throughout the year by 50 respected jurors from print, online, radio and broadcast media across the U.S. and Canada. Those jurors vote three times during the year to reduce the list of eligible vehicles down to semifinalists, finalists and, finally, winners.

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; final voting will take place Dec. 30, 2022 – Jan. 5, 2023, and the 2022 NACTOY Car, Truck and Utility of the Year winners will be announced at a special event in Detroit on January 11, 2023.

For more information about NACTOY and its history: http://northamericancaroftheyear.org.

ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN CAR, TRUCK, AND UTILITY VEHICLE OF THE YEAR™

The awards are intended to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year. These vehicles are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, user experience and value. The organization gives out three awards. They are: “North American Car of the Year™,” “North American Truck of the Year™,” and the “North American Utility Vehicle of the Year™.” The awards are unique because they are given by an independent jury of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada instead of by a single publication, website, radio or television station.

Source: NACTOY