Car of the Year Japan
 |
The Car of the Year Japan Award (日本カー・オブ・ザ・イヤー (nihon kā obu za iyā)), also known as Japan Car of the Year (or JCOTY), is an annual Car of the Year award given for newly released or redesigned vehicles released in the car buying market in Japan in the twelve months beginning 1 November.
The award has been presented since 1980. The supervisory board is made up primarily of Japanese automotive journalists. The award is is not associated with the more recent RJC Car of the Year, which has been issued by the Automotive Researchers' and Journalists’ Conference since 1992.
The current recipient of the award for 2024 to 2025 is the Honda Freed.[1]
The first non-Japanese car to win the award was the Volkswagen Golf in 2013, followed by the Volvo XC60 in 2017 and the Volvo XC40 in 2018.[2][3][4] The highest-placed car from the United States was the Jeep Cherokee, which was eliminated in the final round in 2014 and was placed eighth.[5]
Recipients
[edit]| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1994–1995 | Mercedes-Benz C200 |
| 1995–1996 | MG F |
| 1996–1997 | Mercedes-Benz SLK |
| 1997–1998 | Renault Mégane Scénic |
| 1998–1999 | Mercedes-Benz A-Class |
| 1999–2000 | Rover 75 |
| 2000–2001 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2001–2002 | Alfa Romeo 147 |
| 2002–2003 | None |
| 2003–2004 | None |
| 2004–2005 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2005–2006 | BMW 3 Series |
| 2006–2007 | Citroën C6 |
| 2007–2008 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2008–2009 | Citroën C5 |
| 2009–2010 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2010–2011 | Volkswagen Polo |
| 2011–2012 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2012–2013 | BMW 3 Series |
| 2013–2014 | None |
| 2014–2015 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 2015–2016 | BMW 2 Series Active Tourer/Gran Tourer |
| 2016–2017 | Audi A4 |
| 2017–2018 | None |
| 2018–2019 | None |
| 2019–2020 | BMW 3 Series |
| 2020–2021 | Peugeot 208/e-208 |
| 2021–2022 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2022–2023 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 |
| 2023–2024 | BMW X1 |
| 2024–2025 | Mini Cooper |
| 2025–2026 | Volkswagen ID. Buzz |
Most wins by manufacturer (Japanese car)
[edit]| Total wins | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 12 | Honda |
| 9 | Toyota |
| 6 | Mazda |
| 6 | Nissan |
| 5 | Mitsubishi |
| 4 | Subaru |
| 2 | Volvo |
| 1 | Lexus |
| 1 | Volkswagen |
| 1 | Hyundai |
Most wins by manufacturer (Import car)
[edit]| Total wins | Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 7 | Mercedes-Benz |
| 6 | Volkswagen |
| 5 | BMW |
| 2 | Citroen |
| 2 | Volvo |
| 1 | MG F |
| 1 | Renault |
| 1 | Rover |
| 1 | Alfa Romeo |
| 1 | Audi |
| 1 | Peugeot |
| 1 | Hyundai |
| 1 | Mini |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Nissan Sakura Wins 2022–2023 Japan Car Of The Year Award & Kei Car Of The Year Award". cleantechnica.com. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ↑ Radu, Mihnea (25 November 2013). "Volkswagen Golf Named Car of the Year in Japan". autoevolution.com. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ↑ Kavermann, David (12 December 2017). "Volvo XC60 crowned Japanese Car of the Year". driven.co.nz. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ↑ Laurel, Drei (12 December 2018). "The Volvo XC40 is 2018's Japan Car of the Year". topgear.com.ph. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ↑ Tragianis, Nick (17 October 2014). "Jeep Cherokee nominated for Car of the Year award ... in Japan". driving.ca. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ↑ "TOYOTA SOARER NAMED JAPAN'S "CAR OF THE YEAR"". driving.ca. 23 December 1981. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ↑ De Guzman, Marcus (13 October 2014). "All-new Mazda2/Demio wins the Japanese Car of The Year award". Autoindustriya.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ↑ Turkus, Brandon (14 October 2014). "Mazda2 nets Japan Car of the Year, Cherokee first US model to ever crack top 10 [UPDATE]". autoblog.com. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ Bijoux, Niles (11 December 2018). "Volvo takes back-to-back Japanese COTY award". www.autocar.co.nz. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ↑ Redfern, John (9 December 2019). "Toyota RAV4 wins 2019 Car of the Year Japan award" (in Thai). www.motoringresearch.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ↑ Braithwaite-Smith, Gavin (10 December 2020). "Subaru Levorg is Japan's Car of the Year". www.msn.com. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ↑ "Nissan Note e-POWER Series Wins Japan Car of the Year 2021". 14 December 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ↑ "Subaru Forester Won 2025-2026 Japan Car of the Year Award – Japanese Car News". Retrieved 2025-12-18.