Acura, Ford, Kia vehicles win North American car, truck and utility of year



(January 12, 2023) PONTIAC, Mich. — The 2023 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) award winners were announced Wednesday during a joint press conference with the Detroit Area Dealers Association (DADA) and Automotive Press Association (APA) at M1 Concourse in Pontiac.  After three rounds of independently verified voting stemming from hundreds of hours of test driving, research and evaluation. 


The winners are:

    •    North American Car of the Year: Acura Integra
    •    North American Truck of the Year: Ford F-150 Lightning
    •    North American Utility Vehicle of the Year: Kia EV6

This year’s NACTOY awards began with 47 eligible vehicles, which jurors later narrowed in three rounds of independently verified voting to 26 semifinalists, 9 outstanding finalists and the 2023 winners. Throughout the year, NACTOY jurors spent hundreds of hours test driving, researching and evaluating vehicles on automotive innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction, user experience and value to cast the votes that named the 2023 NACTOY award winners.

“This year showed the unprecedented variety of vehicles on sale today, including reborn models of iconic nameplates, numerous electric vehicles, thrilling high performance or off-road vehicles, impressive luxury products and even all-new manufacturers,” said NACTOY President Gary Witzenburg. “This was an extremely competitive year, but this year’s winners rose to the top to earn the collective votes of our 50 jurors, and we congratulate Acura, Ford and Kia for bringing their outstanding offerings to market this year.”

Founded in 1994, these awards are the longest-running new-vehicle awards not associated with a single publication. They are judged by 50 professional automotive journalists from a wide variety of print, online, radio and television media outlets in the United States and Canada.

The votes are confidentially tallied by Deloitte LLP, ensuring each stage of the award cycle is the collective decision of all jurors. Votes for 2023 NACTOY winners remained secret until envelopes were opened onstage during the event.