These are the 25 finalists for South African Car of the Year 2022

The South African Guild of Mobility Journalists (SAGMJ) has announced the top 25 finalists for the 2022 South African Car of the Year (COTY) competition.

“This year’s COTY finalists show us the tremendous speed of research and development in the automotive industry. The finalists represent the best of the best in South Africa, and we are eager to see who the winners of this year’s competition will be,” said Carl Wepener, chairman of the SAGMJ.

Besides the overall winner’s crown, finalists can also win one of 10 categories: Budget, Compact, Compact Family, Midsize, Premium, Luxury, Performance, New Energy, Adventure SUV and 4X4 Double Cab. The Budget segment however, has no contenders this year.

The Peugeot 2008 SUV was selected 2021 South African Car of the Year, beating out 23 finalists, as announced in October.

The most competitive categories in this year’s competition are the Midsize and Performance categories, with five finalists each. The Midsize category comprises the Audi A3, Hyundai’s Palisade, Santa Fe and Staria, and the Mercedes Benz C-Class. BMW’s 128ti and M3, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, Toyota GR Yaris and Volkswagen Golf GTI make up the finalists in the Performance category.

Strong contenders in the Compact and Compact Family categories represent imported brands, with Toyota the only OEM that manufactures vehicles locally.

This year, the New Energy category represents a wider range of vehicles, which indicates the increased focus by OEMs in this segment of the market.

The Adventure SUV and 4×4 Double Cab categories are just as competitive this year as the 2021 COTY competition, where a newcomer in the class is competing against an established, locally manufactured rival.

The final round of scoring will commence shortly and continue until early April. This round also includes data from Lightstone, which is used for automated scoring based on segment sales volumes and spec-adjusted competitor pricing.

With six finalists in five different categories, Toyota has the most finalists in this year’s competition. Hyundai is in second place, with five finalists in three different categories.

Top 25 finalists for the 2022 COTY competition

Compact

Compact Family

Midsize

Luxury

Performance

New Energy

Adventure SUV

4X4 Double Cab

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