Car of the year 2022: discover the pre-selected models

Scheduled for next February, the election of the Car of the Year 2022 is already being prepared. Discover the first list of selected models

What will be the next car of the year, succeeding the Toyota Yaris? For the moment, difficult to know, but one thing is certain, the winning model is already on the list unveiled by the organizers of the election. Indeed, like every year, the committee in charge of organizing this event presents a first selection of cars that may have their chance to become THE car of the year. But before they can claim victory, the contestants will first have to go through several stages, aiming to reduce the number of participants each time. A first skimming will therefore be done in mid-November, before an election which will take place on February 16. And like every year, this ceremony will kick off the Geneva show, which should indeed open its doors in 2022, after being canceled for two consecutive years, due to the Coronavirus crisis.

No less than 65 models have therefore been selected for this new edition of the Car of the Year election, and the least we can say is that the choice is eclectic to say the least. . If we find cars already well known, such as the Audi Q4 e-tron or the DS 9 and DS 4, other cars are a little more surprising. And for good reason, these have not yet been revealed to the general public. This is particularly the case of the Ferrari Purosangue SUV or the Volkswagen ID.5. Even more surprisingly, we notice the presence of the Jaguar XJ, the first electric sedan of the English brand, which had finally been abandoned. Would the firm have reconsidered its decision? We will have to wait a few more months to find out, while the regulations stipulate that the cars must be marketed in five European countries before the end of the year to be eligible for the election.

Strict rules

Created in 1964, the European Car of the Year Trophy simply rewards the best model sold on the market. To have a chance of winning this election, the vehicles competing must respect certain rules, since they must have been placed on the market during the last twelve months preceding the contest, in at least five countries and with forecasts of at least less than 5,000 copies per year. Several criteria are then evaluated by the 58 journalists who are members of the jury, such as safety, pleasure, design, comfort or even the price. Last year, the Toyota Yaris was crowned, succeeding the Peugeot 208. In 2019, we remember that the Jaguar I-Pace won the election, arriving for the first time tied with the Alpine A110.