Kia, Ford, Toyota models dominate auto segments at NACTOY

The winners of the 2024 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) awards are now finalized, offering insight into the vehicles re-defining their segments.

NACTOY award recipients are selected by a panel of journalists who judge the year’s contestants based on which model made the biggest impact on its segment.

Out of the top cars of 2024, panelists were split on the newly updated Toyota Prius hybrid and the Honda Accord, which recently received its own hybrid powertrain. The Prius ultimately won based on its widespread popularity, followed by the Accord and the battery-only Hyundai Ioniq 6. Low and zero-emission passenger vehicles have seen a dramatic surge in demand in recent years, with sales expected to rise even faster in 2024, partly explaining why none of this year’s top three finalists in the cars segment were fully gas-powered.

As expected, Ford remained on top of the truck segment, with the F-250 Super Duty winning first place shortly after the company revealed its F-150 remained the U.S.’s best-selling pickup throughout 2023. Other honorable mentions this year were the Chevy Silverado electric pickup and the four-cylinder Chevy Colorado. Although battery-powered trucks are becoming more widespread, the need for long driving ranges and exceptional towing power have yet to shake the dominance of the internal combustion engine in the truck segment.

The SUV segment proved to be slightly more contentious and focused exclusively on zero-emission models, with judges split between the Kia EV9, the Hyundai Kona, and the Genesis GV 70, all electrified models. Ultimately, Kia retained its three-year streak at the top of the utility market thanks to the supreme quality of its new SUV, despite facing more competition in its segment than ever from battery-powered alternatives.