Domestics, Hyundai/Kia Dominate N. American Vehicle Finalists

U.S. nameplates account for five of the nine finalists vying for the 2020 North American Car, Truck and Utility vehicles of the year awards.

Three of the remaining contenders are from Hyundai and its Kia affiliate, with the other coming from Toyota. No European-badged model made the cut—the first such absence among finalists since 2014.

The North American Car of the Year finalists are the Chevrolet Corvette, Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Supra. The truck list is comprised of a trio of pickups: the compact Jeep Gladiator, midsize Ford Ranger and supersized Ram Heavy Duty.

In the ultra-competitive utility category, the list has been winnowed to the Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride and Lincoln Aviator.

The nine finalists were selected from a pool of 29 all-new or substantially redesigned vehicles by 50 auto journalists, based on a variety of performance, design and value attributes. The winner in each category will be announced early next year in Detroit.

Earlier this week, Motor Trend named the Corvette, Ram HD and Telluride as its Car, Truck and SUV of the year, respectively.