Twenty of Canada’s best vehicles have been revealed as the semi-finalists for this year’s Canadian Car of the Year Awards (CCOTY), presented by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

Under a new format for 2024, the Awards have been simplified into four categories:

• Canadian Car of the Year
• Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year
• Canadian Electric Car of the Year
• Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year

Semi-finalists

Voting is conducted by the expert journalists of AJAC, in a two-stage process. In Stage 1, now complete, journalists have named their favourites in each category. After collation of the votes cast, the semi-finalists for each award—the Top 5 Vehicles in Canada—have now been revealed as follows:

2024 Canadian Car of the Year:

• Acura Integra Type S
• Honda Accord
• Subaru Impreza
• Toyota GR Corolla
• Toyota Prius

2024 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year:

• Genesis GV70
• Honda CR-V
• Mazda CX-90
• Subaru Crosstrek
• Toyota Grand Highlander

2024 Canadian Electric Car of the Year:

• BMW i4
• Genesis Electrified G80
• Hyundai Ioniq 6
• Lucid Air
• Toyota Prius Prime

2024 Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year:

• Genesis Electrified GV70
• Hyundai Ioniq 5
• Kia EV9
• Mazda CX-90 Plug-In Hybrid
• Nissan Ariya

All 2024 model year vehicles are eligible for the CCOTY Awards, including those newly designed, recently refreshed, and carried over from last year.

The expert jurors are based right across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax. CCOTY is Canada’s ONLY vehicle awards scheme in which the jurors drive every vehicle they vote on. Vehicles are tested on the same roads and in the same conditions faced by Canadian drivers from coast to coast every day, as well as at AJAC’s annual TestFest event held each October.

“The 20 AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Award semi-finalists are the vehicles that our members have found to be the cars, trucks, and SUVs best suited to the needs of drivers in Canada,” said AJAC President Evan Williams.

Unparalleled depth of expertise

“AJAC is the largest group of automotive journalists in the country, which gives us an unparalleled depth of expertise and knowledge when it comes to road testing vehicles. We have members from coast to coast and each one drives every vehicle they vote on in real-world conditions before casting a ballot. Canadian Car of the Year is the only program in the country that can say that. It’s something we’re extremely proud of, and it’s something we believe lets Canadians know that they can be confident in our results and that these vehicles are the stand-outs in their respective classes.”

After the finalists are announced in January, the winners will be revealed on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at the Canadian International AutoShow (CIAS) in Toronto. Results from AJAC journalist member ballots are audited by international accounting firm KPMG and remain under wraps until the moment the envelopes are opened.

“We are excited to again be partnering with AJAC for the Canadian Car of the Year Awards,” said Jason Campbell, General Manager Canadian International AutoShow. “The debut of the indoor EV Test Track at our 50th anniversary AutoShow in 2023 was immensely popular so it’s great to see the new Canadian Electric Car of the Year and Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year categories joining the established Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. Congratulations to all the semi-finalists and we look forward to revealing the four winners with AJAC in February.”