The seven new cars that will go ahead to compete for the prestigious 2026 European Car of the Year title have been announced.
A total of 59 jurors – made up of esteemed motoring press publications from 23 nations – submitted votes to whittle the nominees down from a longlist of 35 new cars.
The cars that will go ahead and compete for the overall prize are the Dacia Bigster, Renault 4, Skoda Elroq, Citroen C5 Aircross, Kia EV4, Mercedes CLA and Fiat Grande Panda.
The winner will be announced at the Brussels Motor Show on 9 January after final testing from jurors and an additional round of voting.
Leading the finalists is Renault, which is eyeing a third consecutive European COTY title after triumphing in 2024 with the Scenic and again in 2025 with the Renault 5, a title shared with the mechanically similar Alpine A290.
Of the seven marques nominated, only Dacia and Skoda are yet to walk away with one of the most coveted prizes in motoring.
Both have been finalists before – the Dacia Duster last year – and, most recently for Skoda, the Enyaq iV in 2022, but neither the Romanian nor the Czech marque have come away with top honours.
Elsewhere, Kia is eyeing another win with its EV4, EV3, EV9 and EV6 in being nominated, with the latter taking the overall award in 2022.
Mercedes-Benz is a former winner but you have to go back to 1974 for its last win with the 450SE. However, its new CLA – which has been highlighted for setting new standards in terms of electric range – should be a front runner.
Similarly, Citroen has enjoyed multiple nomination over the year, but its last win came in 1990 with the XM.
- New Cars