2026 GCOTY Segment Winners Announced

The German Car of the Year awards programme or GCOTY has declared its segment winners for 2026 edition. Drawing from a pool of a staggering 89 new models launched this past year, the awards are split over 5 categories. The winners across segments cover a wide variety of vehicle body types, price segments, sizes, and there is also a healthy mix of combustion and electrified/pure electric powertrains in the mix. The five category winners are Dacia Bigster for Budget segment, Skoda Elroq for Compact, Hyundai Ioniq 9 for Premium,  Cadillac Vistiq for Luxury, and Lucid Air Sapphire for Performance. The winners were presented their trophies at a special dinner organised by GCOTY and ZF at the famed Zeppelin Museum in the latter’s home city Friedrichshafen. The jury now tests the segment winners and will vote in round two – for the overall German Car of the Year – which shall be announced in a few weeks.  

The Dacia Bigster won for the newly minted category for the ‘Budget’ segment of cars with a € 25,000 price cut off. There were 8 eligible cars in the fray, and the Bigster edged out the Hyundai Inster and Citroën C3 Aircross, which made up the top three. The award was collected by Thilo Schmidt, CEO, Dacia Germany. He said, “We are now bringing the Dacia brand values – robustness, environmental friendliness, spaciousness and especially essential mobility – to the Compact SUV Segment.  And with great success, because the Bigster has firmly established itself in this highly competitive car class within just a few months. The prestigious German Car of the Year 2026 award is a great proof of this success.”. A more luxurious version of the Bigster is expected in India as the Renault Boreal in 2026, along with a Nissan version of the car too.

Dacia Bigster's Renault version could launch in India in 2026

The Skoda Elroq was in the most competitive award category – for Compact cars that span a price band of € 25,000-40,000. This had 28 nominees and the Elroq stayed ahead of the Renault 5 and Kia EV3 here. Thomas Kretschmer, Head of Product Marketing, Skoda Germany. “This award proves how well the Skoda Elroq addresses the needs of the market. It offers affordable, everyday E-mobility in a compact package. The sum of its qualities has convinced a lot of customers, and it has already catapulted Skoda to the Number Two position in the German EV market.” Said, Jan-Hendrik Hülsmann, CEO, Skoda Auto Germany. There is an expectation that Skoda will bring the Elroq to India as well.

The Skoda Elroq EV could be India-bound

In the Premium category we had the next most contenders with 27 cars vying for the title. Cars with prices ranging from € 40,000-70,000 qualify for this category. This was a closer fight with the top three made up of very strong players. Jens Eberth, Head of Marketing, Hyundai Germany collected the award for the Hyundai IONIQ 9. The Mercedes-Benz CLA was the first- runner up, with the BYD Seal 6 Touring in third place. Ulrich Mechau, President & CEO, Hyundai Motor Germany said, “We are proud that our electric flagship receives such a prestigious award shortly after its market launch in Germany. The IONIQ 9 fulfils premium customer demands regarding technology, design, comfort and everyday usability. The German Premium Car of the Year award is an encouragement to pursue our ambitions for electric mobility in all segments.”

Hyundai's IONIQ 9 uses the same platform as the Kia EV9

The Luxury category is for cars priced over € 70,000 and was heavily populated last year at the 2025 edition; but there were only 5 cars in the running this year. Pere Brugal, President and Managing Director, General Motors Europe said, “We are extremely proud to win the prestigious GCOTY award in the Luxury category for the second year in a row. This marks a historic moment: Cadillac is the first manufacturer ever to receive this honour consecutively in such a significant category. This achievement is the strongest proof yet that we are offering highly compelling vehicles in the luxury segment—and that, just shortly after launching our EV strategy in Europe, we are already competing on equal footing with the industry’s most established brands.” The Cadillac Vistiq received higher marks than the Volvo XC90 and Toyota Land Cruiser. The award was presented to George Svigos, Corporate Communications Director – Global Markets, Cadillac. 

Cadillac Vistiq EV is a full-sized SUV with seating for seven people

And finally, the powerful performance version of the Lucid Air – its Sapphire variant won the Performance car category.  This is an award where all sports cars, roadsters, and performance variants of existing cars qualify. There were 21 cars in the hunt, and the first runner-up was the BMW M3 CS Touring, while the second runner up was the Defender Octa. Strong contenders for sure. The award was collected by Eric Bach, Senior VP, Product and Chief Engineer, Lucid. Lawrence Hamilton, President of Europe, Lucid said, “It is a great honour and joy to receive the German Performance Car of the Year 2026 Award. This unique recognition validates and strengthens our conviction that the Air Sapphire is the most fascinating and multifaceted high-performance EV on the market. Its technology allows for an unsurpassed combination of power, agility and versatility.”

American EV super sedan wins big at GCOTY

The erstwhile ‘New Energy’ category was deemed redundant and was discontinued this year. The German Car of the Year programme enters its eight year and is already ranked as one of the world’s most prestigious honours in the automobile industry. This writer is one of the international jurors that make up a 40 strong jury made up by a few global and mostly German media professionals. The programme is supported by sponsors Aitastic, AutoCom Associates, Bridgestone, Gentex, KST Motorenversuch and ZF Friedrichshafen.

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