Semifinalists for 2021 North American Car of the Year Announced

Most of this year may not have gone according to plan, but things are starting to fall back into place. For automakers that had to pass on the annual car shows, there is at least one other thing to look forward to: awards season.

An upcoming event is the North American Car, Utility, and Truck of the Year, which has recently announced the semifinalists for the 2021 model year.

A total of 27 models were included in the list: eight sedans, 15 SUVs, and four trucks, all of which were either renewed or redesigned for the next year. As expected, utility vehicles dominate the lineup, including new generations of some highly anticipated nameplates such as the Ford Bronco Sport, Cadillac Escalade, and the Mustang Mach-E.

Other SUVs that received nominations are the Genesis GV80, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Seltos, Kia Sorento, Land Rover Defender, Mazda CX-30, Nissan Rogue, Volvo XC40 P8 Recharge, and Toyota’s RAV4 Prime and Venza as well as Chevrolet’s Tahoe, Suburban, and Trailblazer.

Noticeably missing from the list is the Tesla Model Y, although it has been revealed that the automaker did not make its car available for jury testing.

In the passenger car category, some big names are also included such as the Acura TLX, Cadillac CT4 and CT4-V, Hyundai Elantra, Kia K5, Mercedes-Benz E Class Sedan/All-Terrain/Coupe/Cabriolet, Nissan Sentra, and the Polestar 2. Meanwhile, semifinalists in the truck division include the Ford Super Duty and F-150, Ram 1500 TRX, and Jeep Gladiator Mojave.

All in all, there are 46 cars nominated for the awards. A jury comprised of 50 independent journalists will test each of the vehicles to decide the winners. The organizers are expected to announce the finalists in December and the winners in January.

In the previous staging of the awards, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray won the best car plum, while the Kia Telluride took home the best SUV award and the Jeep Gladiator bagged the best truck recognition.