ICOTY 2024: Hyundai Exter Wins Indian Car of the Year; Ioniq 5 Takes Green Car Award

The 19th edition of the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) awards, often referred to as the 'Oscar' of the Indian automotive industry, awarded Hyundai Exter with the title of Indian Car of the Year 2024. The Maruti Suzuki Jimny was the first runner-up while the Honda Elevate and Toyota Innova Hycorss finished as second runners-up. At the same time, the BMW 7 Series bagged the Premium Car of the Year award, while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 was awarded the Green Car of the Year by ICOTY.

These outcomes were determined through a careful assessment of finalists, systematically shortlisted by the ICOTY jury. The panel consists of our Founder, Editor-in-Chief of autoX, and Chairman of ICOTY, Dhruv Behl, along with Managing Editor and Secretary of ICOTY, Ishan Raghava. Their collective expertise and insight contributed to the selection of the standout vehicles that made it to the final round of this prestigious competition.

Also Read:  Hyundai Exter Review: Rocking the Segment

Indian Car Of The Year (Overall)

The 2024 Indian Car of the Year award was won by the Hyundai Exter, with the Maruti Suzuki Jimny securing the first runner-up position and the Honda Elevate and Toyota Innova Hycross as the second runner-up. 

For the 19th season of ICOTY, a roster of 8 cars emerged as contenders, featuring the Honda Elevate, Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Jimny, Hyundai Exter, Mahindra XUV400, Citroen C3 Aircross, MG Comet, and Toyota Innova Hycross. 

It is worth noting that the ICOTY winners over the past four years have been the Kia Carens, Mahindra XUV700, Hyundai i20, and Hyundai Venue.

Premium Car Award by ICOTY

The 2024 Premium Car Award was won by the BMW 7 Series with the Mercedes-Benz GLC securing the first runner-up position and the BMW X1 as the second runner-up. In the 2024 Premium Car Award by ICOTY, the shortlisted contenders featured the BMW 7 Series, Lexus LX, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Volvo C40 Recharge, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Lexus RX, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, and BMW X1.

Previous recipients of this accolade include the Mercedes-Benz EQS 580, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Land Rover Defender, and BMW 3 Series (G20).

Green Car Award by ICOTY

In the Green Car Award by ICOTY 2024 category, contenders included the Citroen eC3, Mahindra XUV400, BMW i7, Volvo C40 Recharge, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Mercedes-Benz EQE (SUV), MG Comet EV, and BYD Atto 3. The 2024 Green Car Award was secured by the Hyundai Ioniq 5 with the BMW i7 and MG Comet EV earning recognition as the first and second runner-ups, respectively.

It's worth mentioning that the Kia EV6 clinched the 2023 Green Car Award, while the Audi e-tron and Tata Nexon EV were honored with the 2022 and 2021 Green Car Awards, respectively.

Also Read:  Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV Review: It Can Do the Long Run, PROVEN!

Icoty 2024: How Winner is Selected?

Comprising experienced automotive writers from prestigious publication houses, including autoX, the panel is tasked with shortlisting candidates and selecting the ultimate champions. Cars vying for a spot among the finalists and eventual winners undergo a thorough evaluation based on various criteria such as technology, design, comfort, performance, and fuel economy. 

In the voting process, each jury member is allocated 25 points to distribute among the candidates. A jury member may only give one car up to ten points, and they must provide points to at least five distinct vehicles. No jury member may also award the top two cars the same number of points. This way, the jury may be sure that each member clearly indicates which of the contenders they favour.

Icoty 2024: Jury Member

This year's 18-member ICOTY jury consisted of autoX's Dhruv Behl (Chairman) & Ishan Raghava (Secretary), Yogendra Pratap & Rahul Ghosh (Auto Today), Sirish Chandran & Aatish Mishra (Evo India), Aspi Bhathena & Joshua Varghese (Car India ), Rohit Paradkar & Bob Rupani (Overdrive), Pablo Chaterji & Kartik Ware (Motoring World), Arpit Mahendra (TOI Auto), Vikrant Singh (Carwale), Ameya Dandekar (Cardekho/Zigwheels), Abhay Verma (Turbocharged), Kushan Mitra (The Print) and Cyrus Dhabhar (Powerdrift).