CATEGORY WINNERS

COMPACT (<35k €) – Citroën ë-c3 / C3

PREMIUM (<70k €) – BMW 5 series / i5

LUXURY (>70k €) – Cadillac Lyriq

NEW ENERGY – Audi Q6 / SQ6 e-tron

PERFORMANCE – PORSCHE 911 GTS T-Hybrid

GERMAN CAR OF THE YEAR 2025:

THE CLASS WINNERS

Citroën C3/Ë-C3, BMW 5 series/i5, Cadillac Lyriq, Audi Q6/SQ6 e-tron
and Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid lead their segments.

A jury of around 40 renowned motor journalists has chosen the class winners for German Car of The Year 2025 awards.

The five victorious models have been selected from all new cars launched within the past twelve months.

The “Compact” segment with an entry price of up to 35,000 euros has been captured by the new Citroën C3/Ë-C3, the “Premium” segment (up to 70,000 euros) was taken by the BMW 5 series/i5, and the Cadillac Lyriq took the “Luxury” category (over 70,000 euros). The category (“New Energy”), focusing on alternative powertrains, is led by the Audi Q6/SQ6 e-tron, and the “Performance” class winner is the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid.

From those five class leaders, jurors will select the overall winner of the German Car Of The Year 2025 award during extensive testing over a two-day period. The winner will be announced on November 13, 2024.

The independent and highly diverse jury consists around 40 German and international motor journalists. The program is supported by sponsors Aitastic, AutoCom Associates, Alcantara, Bridgestone, Gentex, KST Motorenversuch and ZF Friedrichshafen.

MISSION AND COMPLIANCE

The German Car Of The Year award and its growing jury of 40 experts aim to recognize and inspire excellence and innovation in the automotive industry, with a specific focus on German-speaking markets. We test drive and judge every significant new car for sale there, both in their respective segments and overall.

For the 2025 program, there are five segments:

COMPACT

includes all new cars with an entry-level price of under EUR 35K.

PREMIUM

includes all new cars with an entry-level price between EUR 35K and EUR 70K.

LUXURY

includes all new cars, except for extremely low-volume cars, with an entry-level price over EUR 70K.

NEW ENERGY

includes all new cars and all new derivatives of existing cars with a fully electric or hydrogen-fueled powertrain.

PERFORMANCE

includes all new sports cars and roadsters, as well as new high-performance derivatives of existing cars.

The category winners are selected by the jury members that have had a chance to drive and evaluate them.

They are then thoroughly tested against and next to each other at a separate testing event. The contending car with the highest number of votes becomes the

GERMAN CAR OF THE YEAR.

The selection of the contenders is based on objective pricing and market availability criteria. It is not up to the automakers’ discretion.

Participation in the category voting and the testing event is free. Automakers also do not pay for the trophy they receive.

Jurors do not pay nor do they get paid to be members of the jury or to attend the testing events. Their votes are secret and not disclosed to carmakers or anyone else.

The voting process is conducted and certified by our partner Aitastic AG.

The GCOTY awards program is financed by licensing fees, which are purely optional, and outside sponsors who have no access to the jury selection and voting process.

The GCOTY group may organise webinars, symposiums, driving events, writing talent competitions and further automotive-related activities events in order to foster networking, help create stories and broaden the realm of high-quality automotive reporting. These activities are strictly separated from the awards program.