Chinese charge halted at WCOTY
Jurors crush Chinese dreams in first round of World Car of the Year votingThe rising wave of Chinese auto brands has come crashing down in the first round of voting for the 2024 World Car of the Year award, in which judges preferred European, Japanese and South Korean brands.
Twenty new Chinese models went into the first round of outright voting, but only one – the BYD Seal (also badged as the Atto 4) – made it through to the second ballot, World Car of the Year announced this week.
From 52.6 per cent of the eligible vehicles initially nominated in the overall category, China’s car-makers will now have just 10 per cent in the second round.
Instead, traditional heavyweight manufacturing regions rose to the top, with South Korea getting all three of its contenders (Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia EV9) through to the second round.
Europe had two (Volkswagen ID.7 and Volvo EX30) of its five contenders through, and Japan managed to keep three (Mazda CX-90, Toyota Prius and the Subaru Crosstrek) of its eight offerings on the list.
The Ford Bronco filled out the top 10 vehicles eligible for the second round of voting.
A similar story was repeated in the World Electric Vehicle category, where Chinese companies had 22 of the 32 eligible vehicles, or 69 per cent, but were completely wiped off the second ballot.
Another round of voting to cull the list down to a final three in each category will be announced at the Geneva motor show on February 26, while the winners will be announced at the New York motor show on March 27.
The World EV wipeout came as a shock, with China’s automotive rise inextricably linked with its prowess and rapid progress in electric vehicles, and the likes of Geely, BYD and GWM already being well respected competitors in global markets.
BYD had three cars in the first round of voting, joining Chinese EVs from Dayun, Dorcen, Fisker, GWM, HiPhi, Hongqi, Maxus/LDV, Nio, Seres, Voyah, XPeng and Geely’s EV brand, Zeekr. Not one made it through to the second round.
Instead of the wave of Chinese rivals, four European EVs (the Volkswagen ID.7, Volvo EX30, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV and BMW i5) made it through to join the Kia EV9 in the final five.
To be eligible for WCOTY, new vehicles must have gone on sale on at least two continents in their calendar year debut. The European (and Australian) toe-holds many Chinese brands now have made this their first year of arriving en masse on the WCOTY ballot paper.
WCOTY is chosen by 100 automotive journalists from around the world, including China.
Chinese companies also had three of the seven cars nominated for the Urban Car award, but only one in the second round, while none of its seven Luxury Car contenders survived the first-round cutoff, and neither did its lone Performance Car entry.
The BYD Dolphin will join Japan’s Lexus LBX and Suzuki Fronx and Europe’s Abarth 500e and Volvo EX30 in the final round of voting for the Urban Car award.
HiPhi, Hongqi, Nio and Voyah stumbled at the first Luxury Car hurdle, where the BMW 5 Series will face off against the Lexus LM and the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, E-Class and CLE models.
Only the MG4 XPOWER electric hot hatch made it on to the original list of Performance Car contenders, which was dominated by European brands. Fifteen of the original 17 contenders were from Europe (though Lotus, which debuted the Eletre, is under Geely control), and four of the final five are European.
There, the Ferrari Purosangue will take on the BMW XM and X2, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N.
The Hyundai IONIQ 6 was named 2023 WCOTY.
Related: VFACTS 2023: Chinese cars now a dominant force in Australia
Related: Hyundai IONIQ 6 named World Car of the Year
Join the conversation at
Or email us at
Or email us at
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
