DETROIT – The envelope, please . . .

Winners of the 2025 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year are the Honda Civic Hybrid, Ford Ranger and Volkswagen ID.Buzz. The prestigious NACTOY awards kicked off the Detroit Auto Show Media Day on Friday morning as the event returned to its traditional January slot as the first auto show of the year.

In a competitive field of nominees, Detroit brands scored four nominations.

Car finalists were the $29,845 Honda Civic Hybrid, $23,145 Kia K4 and $29,535 Toyota Camry. Truck category nominees featured a showdown between the $34,575 Ford Ranger, $42,270 Ram 1500 and $32,995 Toyota Tacoma. And, in the SUV competition, the 34,995 Chevrolet Equinox EV, $35,615 Hyundai Santa Fe and $61,545 Volkswagen ID.Buzz faced off.

The vehicle choices reflected the jurors’ practical streak as the three nominees offer affordable transportation in a market saturated by high-priced EVs, SUVs and an average transaction price approaching $50,000. Though EVs made up nearly half the 25 semifinalists that jurors considered at their October national test, only two made the final round. Manufacturers have flooded the market with pricey EVs to meet onerous government mandates, but the market has stalled at just 8% EV sales.

NACTOY finalists average price was $36,057. The most expensive finalist was the Volkswagen EV. The cheapest was the Kia at $23,145.

In its 32nd year, NACTOY honors vehicles that excel across several criteria, including innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, user experience, driver satisfaction and value. Judged by an independent jury of 50 journalists (including the author of this article) from the U.S. and Canada, NACTOY is one of the industry’s most coveted trophies.

NACTOY president and WWJ Radio-Detroit automotive reporter Jeff Gilbert handed out trophies to the recipients.

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