NACTOY Adds SUV Category to Best-Vehicle Awards

The North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards is adding a third category—SUV/crossovers—for 2017.

The next round of winners for the 23-year-old awards will be announced ahead of the Detroit auto show on Jan. 9. Until now, SUVs and crossovers were usually but not always grouped under the truck category.

Last year demand for SUV/crossovers in the U.S. surged 16% to a record 6.3 million units, or 36% of the entire market, according to Autodata Corp. The firm notes that sales of such vehicles rose 8% through the first five months of 2016, capturing 37% of the American market.

NACTOY uses a panel of 60 auto writers in the U.S. and Canada to select winners based on their innovation, design, safety, performance, driver satisfaction and value.