25 NACTOY semifinalists announced for 2025

Twenty-five vehicles across three categories have advanced to the next round of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards list for 2025.

The vehicles were selected based on such criteria as innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, user experience, driver satisfaction and value, as determined by a 50-person panel of automotive journalists. There are now 10 cars, 10 utilities and five trucks in the running for the annual awards.

"This list seems to have a lot of variety, a lot of diversity," Jeff Gilbert, automotive reporter for WWJ Radio in Detroit and volunteer president of NACTOY, told sibling publication Automotive News.

Almost 50 per cent of the 25 semifinalists are electric vehicles, even though they make up only about eight per cent of market share.

"We've had a trend toward electric vehicles for several years," Gilbert said, "and there are quite a few on the list, but I don't think they dominate the list as they might have in a few other years."

Brands and models run the gamut — from high-end vehicles such as the Cadillac Celestiq to mainstream vehicles such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Civic.

Semifinalists in the car category include the Kia K4 and two BMW models, the 3 Series and the M5, sparking some in-brand competition. The reborn Toyota Land Cruiser, as well as the Hyundai Santa Fe and Lincoln Nautilus are among candidates in the utility vehicle segment.

In the truck category, there's competition between the combustion engine-powered Toyota Tacoma, Ram 1500 and Ford Ranger and the electric GMC Sierra and Rivian R1T. Despite seeing an update this year, the Ford F-150 did not make the list.

"While the F-150 is one of the bestselling vehicles in America and there are a lot of updates, it's not a total redo of the vehicle, like you saw with the Ranger or the Tacoma," Gilbert said. Ford, at least, does not have to grapple with in-brand competition, he added.

The semifinalists were revealed Sept. 13 in the newly renovated Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Three finalists for the awards in each category, established in 1994, will be announced in Los Angeles on Nov. 21, with the winners revealed at the Detroit Auto Show on Jan. 10, 2025.