Car Journalists Association, First Round of Car of the Year Judging... Audi, Kia, Genesis Pass

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The Korea Automobile Journalists Association recently conducted the first round of the second half evaluation for the 2022 Car of the Year (COTY), selecting 17 vehicles from 10 domestic and imported car brands to advance past the preliminary round, the association announced on the 17th.

The association evaluated 32 new models (including facelifts) from 12 brands released between July and December of last year. The first round of the second half evaluation was held online in a non-face-to-face format from the 6th to the 12th, resulting in 17 vehicles from 10 brands being confirmed as candidates for the second round.

Among the vehicles that passed the first round, Audi had the most with 4 models, followed by Kia, Genesis, and Porsche with 2 models each. Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Volvo, BMW, Jeep, and Hyundai each had one model (brands listed in alphabetical order).

The second round of evaluation will be conducted by the 20th, also online in a non-face-to-face format due to the COVID-19 situation. Vehicles that pass the second round will advance to the final evaluation for the 2022 Car of the Year, where they will compete again. The final evaluation will take place on the 8th of next month at the Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s Automotive Safety Research Institute (KATRI), a nationally accredited comprehensive automotive research institute located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Lee Seung-yong, president of the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, stated, “As fierce competition is expected among domestic and imported car brands for the honor of being Korea’s best car, we plan to conduct the evaluation more fairly and strictly.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.