ICOTY has been a much coveted, singular award for the past 13 years. It has been a reflection of and a foreteller of the trends in the Indian automobile industry. But it has also been biased towards mass market cars and SUVs, in a market that is still dominated by small cars. Vehicles that straddle the entry segment to the compact premium hatch and compact SUV continue to be aspirational for the great Indian middle class.
But the luxury car and SUV segment is growing fast and making its presence felt. Yes, we may not be as big as China is, for these vehicles, any time soon. But, this is still one of the most promising markets of the future for luxury vehicles. In recognition of this market position, the ICOTY jury decided to expand and include under the scope of the ICOTY umbrella a new ‘Premium Car of the Year’ award starting this year.
The contenders for the ‘Premium Car of the Year 2019’ were the Volvo XC40 and XC60, the BMW X3 and the 6GT, the MINI Countryman, Mercedes-AMG E63 S, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Velar, Audi Q5 and RS5, and the Lexus ES300h. The winner of the first Premium Car of the Year award was the Volvo XC40 with a total of 89 points and the runner-up was the other Volvo with 70 points. The second runner-up was the Mercedes-AMG E63.