The North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) jury has levied its expertise, and most automakers have reported their full 2023 deliveries – let's see how they fared.
2024 is still young, but we can already talk about some big announcements made by automakers and other entities. Even better, we are mere days away from the first major event of the year, the 2024 edition of CES in Las Vegas (January 9 – 12), where the automotive industry will try to blend its prowess with "cutting-edge technologies and innovations from prominent creators in the consumer electronics industry."
Starting with the beginning, it's easy to understand why there are not a lot of model novelties during the first week of the year – both automakers and their customers are still reeling after the New Year's fireworks and all that food needs to be safely digested over a period of three to five weeks. I'm kidding; of course, it will take much longer than that to return to slender form (wink, wink).
Anyway, while most people are still vacationing – including many carmaker employees – some brands are more eager to let us know what they have prepared for the first months and weeks of 2024. For example, Kia has announced that its refreshed 2024 Sorento mid-size crossover SUV will launch with hybrid and diesel power in the Land Down Under during the year's second half.
Genesis also introduced the G80 facelift (2025MY) at home in South Korea with the 2.5-liter inline-four turbo and 3.5-liter V6, but that's about it. Unless you are interested to know about the prices of the cheap, rugged, and no-frills (yet cool) third-generation Dacia Duster at home in Romania and France, that is. As for the US market, nothing budged – at least in terms of automobile introductions or updates.
On the other hand, the North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) jury has found its winners. Thus, following "hundreds of hours of research and three rounds of votes," the North American Car of the Year is the Toyota Prius and Prius Prime, the North American Truck of the Year is the Ford Super Duty, and the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year is the Kia EV9. Initially, the list of eligible vehicles was composed of 52 models.
But before the end was near, the car finalists were the Honda Accord, Hyundai Ioniq 6, and Toyota Prius/Prius Prime; the truck finalists were the Chevrolet Colorado, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and Ford Super Duty, while the utility finalists were Genesis Electrified GV70, Kia EV9, and Hyundai Kona/Kona EV. "Our winners reflect the fact that a modern vehicle must be a combination of style, utility, and technology," said NACTOY President Jeff Gilbert. "I commend our fifty jurors for coming up with some excellent choices."
Founded in 1994, the awards are now the longest-running new-vehicle awards not associated with a single publication, as they comprise 50 professional automotive journalists from both the US and Canada working for a wide variety of print, online, radio, and television media outlets. Additionally, the votes are tallied by Deloitte LLP and remained a close-guarded secret until they were announced earlier this week (January 4) during a press conference co-hosted by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) and Automotive Press Association (APA) at M1 Concourse in Pontiac.
Moving on, we already know that in 2023, the industrywide sales of new cars bounced back from all the troubles of the past three years (pandemics, chip shortage, supply chain issues, UAW strikes, and more) to a total of 15.5 million vehicles, up no less than 12.4% compared to 2022 according to an estimate from research firm Wards Intelligence cited by the Wall Street Journal. Of course, some believe that after this excellent performance, they will slow down – "the auto industry appears headed for slower growth this year as consumers struggle with elevated interest rates and high prices for new cars and light trucks," says an analysis from The New York Times.
However, before that happens, it is essential to note that three out of four of the biggest automotive groups in the United States (the Big Detroit Three and Toyota) registered very positive sales results last year. Starting with General Motors, the US automaker comfortably retained its number one position even as Toyota launched a tidal wave of all-new model introductions and a barrage of first-ever apparitions. Still, that was not enough to fulfill its dream of conquering the sales throne in 2023 – GM sold 2.6 million vehicles, and Toyota Motor Corporation achieved a tally of 2,248,477 vehicles.
In the end, it's clear that a rise of 6.6% from Toyota cannot compare with GM's performance, which was more than double at 14%. Ford Motor Company was close but not close enough as it managed a 7.1% jump to almost two million vehicles thanks to the good F-Series and commercial vehicle division's performances. At the same time, the Bronco family and the little Maverick unibody compact pickup truck were also highlighted. Last but not least, Stellantis' North American arm was the one with the negative news – down one percent to 1,527,090 vehicles for the entire 2023 calendar year.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News