Every year for the past 61 years, a passenger car has been named "Car of the Year". Journalists from over 20 countries select the "best" new car on the market.
Over the years, there have always been expected but also surprising dominators of the poll.
The first winner in 1964 was the Rover 2000, a certainly innovative design that attracted a lot of attention at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show, not least because of its impressive cutaway model.
The following year, the jury chose the Austin 1800 as the winner, a car with a lot of usable space and a huge wheelbase in relation to its overall length.
In 1966, the Renault 16 was certainly rightly voted Car of the Year. It combined many progressive concepts into a truly convincing overall package. The Autobianchi Primula, which was certainly also a pioneer in some respects, had only made it to second place the previous year.
In 1967, it was the turn of the Fiat 124, a car that played a particularly important role for Fiat.
In 1968, the innovative NSU Ro80 was voted Car of the Year, which was certainly in line with the Wankel engine hype that hardly any manufacturer could completely escape at the time.
In 1969, the Peugeot 504 emerged as the winner of the poll.
In 1970, the Fiat 128, a small car for the whole family, came out on top.
In 1971, the Citroën GS was named Car of the Year, followed by the Fiat 127 in 1972 and the Audi 80 in 1973, which was probably also the reason why the VW Golf did not make it through its first few years.
With the Mercedes-Benz 450S, a luxury machine was voted best car in 1974, followed the following year by the Citroën CX, which was certainly impressive in terms of design.
While common sense prevailed in 1976 with the Simca 1307/1308, the Rover 3500 made for more surprising faces the following year. In 1978, it was the turn of a veritable sports car for the first time, the Porsche 928.
From then on, only everyday cars with family transportation aspirations made it onto the podium, as the following list shows. The selection of the Toyota Prius with hybrid drive in 2005 was certainly special.
The cars of the year 1964 - 2025
The following list shows the top three winners of the Car of the Year awards. The list can be sorted in any order by clicking on the column heading.
| Year | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Rover 2000 | Mercedes-Benz 600 | Hillman Imp |
| 1965 | Austin 1800 | Autobianchi Primula | Ford Mustang |
| 1966 | Renault 16 | Rolls Royce Silver Shadow | Oldsmobile Toronado |
| 1967 | Fiat 124 | BMW 1600 | Jensen FF |
| 1968 | NSU Ro 80 | Fiat 125 | Simca 1100 |
| 1969 | Peugeot 504 | BMW 2500/2800 | Alfa Romeo 1750 |
| 1970 | Fiat 128 | Autobianchi A112 | Renault 12 |
| 1971 | Citroën GS | Volkswagen K 70 | Citroën SM |
| 1972 | Fiat 127 | Renault 15/17 | Mercedes-Benz 350 SL |
| 1973 | Audi 80 | Renault 5 | Alfa Romeo Alfetta |
| 1974 | Mercedes-Benz 450S | Fiat X 1/9 | Honda Civic |
| 1975 | Citroën CX | Volkswagen Golf | Audi 50 |
| 1976 | Simca 1307-1308 | BMW 316-320 | Renault 30 TS |
| 1977 | Rover 3500 | Audi 100 | Ford Fiesta |
| 1978 | Porsche 928 | BMW 7-series | Ford Granada |
| 1979 | Simca-Chrysler Horizon | Fiat Ritmo | Audi 80 |
| 1980 | Lancia Delta | Opel Kadett | Peugeot 505 |
| 1981 | Ford Escort | Fiat Panda | Austin Metro |
| 1982 | Renault 9 | Opel Ascona | Volkswagen Polo |
| 1983 | Audi 100 | Ford Sierra | Volvo 760 |
| 1984 | Fiat Uno | Peugeot 205 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 1985 | Opel Kadett | Renault 25 | Lancia Thema |
| 1986 | Ford Scorpio | Lancia Y10 | Mercedes-Benz 200-300 E |
| 1987 | Opel Omega | Audi 80 | BMW 7-series |
| 1988 | Peugeot 405 | Citroën AX | Honda Prelude |
| 1989 | Fiat Tipo | Opel Vectra / Vauxhall Cavalier | Volkswagen Passat |
| 1990 | Citroën XM | Mercedes-Benz SL | Ford Fiesta |
| 1991 | Renault Clio | Nissan Primera | Opel/Vauxhall Calibra |
| 1992 | Volkswagen Golf | Opel/Vauxhall Astra | Citroën ZX |
| 1993 | Nissan Micra | Fiat Cinquecento | Renault Safrane |
| 1994 | Ford Mondeo | Citroën Xantia | Mercedes-Benz C-Class |
| 1995 | Fiat Punto | Volkswagen Polo | Opel/Vauxhall Omega |
| 1996 | Fiat Bravo/Brava | Peugeot 406 | Audi A4 |
| 1997 | Renault Mégane Scénic | Ford Ka | Volkswagen Passat |
| 1998 | Alfa Romeo 156 | Volkswagen Golf | Audi A6 |
| 1999 | Ford Focus | Opel/Vauxhall Astra | Peugeot 206 |
| 2000 | Toyota Yaris | Fiat Multipla | Opel/Vauxhall Zafira |
| 2001 | Alfa Romeo 147 | Ford Mondeo | Toyota Prius |
| 2002 | Peugeot 307 | Renault Laguna | Fiat Stilo |
| 2003 | Renault Mégane | Mazda 6 | Citroën C3 |
| 2004 | Fiat Panda | Mazda 3 | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2005 | Toyota Prius | Citroën C4 | Ford Focus |
| 2006 | Renault Clio | Volkswagen Passat | Alfa Romeo 159 |
| 2007 | Ford S-Max | Opel/Vauxhall Corsa | Citroën C4 Picasso |
| 2008 | Fiat 500 | Mazda 2 | Ford Modeo |
| 2009 | Opel/Vauxhall Insignia | Ford Fiesta | Volkswagen Golf |
| 2010 | Volkswagen Polo | Toyota iQ | Opel/Vauxhall Astra |
| 2011 | Nissan Leaf | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | Opel/Vauxhall Meriva |
| 2012 | Opel Ampera / Chevrolet Volt | Volkswagen Up | Ford Focus |
| 2013 | Volkswagen Golf | Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 | Volvo V40 |
| 2014 | Peugeot 308 | BMW I3 | Tesla S |
| 2015 | Volkswagen Passat | Citroën C4 Cactus | Mercedes-Benz C Class |
| 2016 | Opel/Vauxhall Astra | Volvo XC90 | Mazda MX-5 |
| 2017 | Peugeot 3008 |
Alfa Romeo Giulia |
Mercedes-Benz E Class |
| 2018 | Volvo XC40 |
Seat Ibiza |
BMW 5 Series |
| 2019 | Jaguar I-Pace |
Alpine A110 |
Kia Ceed |
| 2020 | Peugeot 208 |
Tesla Model 3 |
Porsche Taycan |
| 2021 | Toyota Yaris |
Fiat (New) 500 |
Cupra Formentor |
| 2022 | Kia EV6 |
Renault Mégane E-Tech |
Hyundai Ioniq 5 |
| 2023 | Jeep Avenger |
VW ID. Buzz |
Nissan Ariya |
| 2024 | Renault Scénic E-Tech |
BMW 5-series |
Peugeot E 3008 |
| 2025 | Alpine A290 / Renault 5 E-Tech Electric |
Kia EV3 |
Citroën C3-ëC3 |
Further information on the Car of the Year can also be found on the official website.
