Despite a gloomy year, there were quite a few significant car launches in the year 2020. Almost every segment witnessed new entrants or the existing models being updated with a fresh look and new-age features. But, which was the car that really stood out amongst the crowd? This brings us to Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) which is the most prestigious award of the year in the automotive industry.

Last year, the Hyundai Venue was crowned as the 2020 ICOTY whereas the BMW 3 Series luxury sedan took the throne in the premium car segment. The Maruti Suzuki Swift remains the only car to be awarded the ICOTY award for every generation.

Coming to this year’s competition, the battlefield consists of the new Honda City, Hyundai Aura, Hyundai Creta, Hyundai i20, Kia Carnival, Kia Sonet, Mahindra Thar, MG Gloster, and the Tata Altroz. The contenders in the premium car segment include Audi A8, Audi Q2, Audi Q8, BMW 2 Series, BMW 8 Series, Land Rover Defender, Lexus LC 500h, Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Mercedes-Benz GLS, and the Porsche Cayenne Coupe.

Since the EVs and hybrids are picking up pace in the country, there is a special Green Car Award with the contestants being – Hyundai Kona, MG ZS EV, Tata Nexon EV, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz EQC, and the Lexus ES 300h.

The jury members for this year comprise Yogendra Pratap, Chairman, ICOTY, Rahul Ghosh from Auto Today, Dhruv Behl and Ishan Raghava from AutoX, Aspi Bhathena and Sarmad Kadiri from Car India, Sirish Chandran and Aniruddha Rangnekar from Evo, Pablo Chaterji and Kartik Ware from Motoring World, Bertrand D’souza and Bob Rupani from Overdrive, Muralidhar Swaminathan from the Hindu, Kushan Mitra from Pioneer, Girish Karkera from Times Auto, Kranti Sambhav from Times Drive, and Vikrant Singh from CarWale.

So, the game is set, the players are out and so are the judges who will evaluate each and every car keeping the Indian car buyers in mind. The winners will be announced on 26 February. Until then, stay tuned.