The winners are judged by a panel of 82 women auto writers across 55 countries, including Canada
- The Women’s World Car of the Year judges have picked their category winners for 2025
- The panel consists of 82 female auto writers across 55 countries, including Canada
- It’s not a “women’s car” award, but the top vehicles picked by the expert judges
A final round of voting on those six category winners will determine the Supreme Winner, which will be announced for International Women’s Day on March 8, 2025.
This is the 15th year for the awards, which were founded by Sandy Myhre of New Zealand, and are now headed up by Marta Garcia of Spain. WWCOTY says it is “the only car awards group in the world comprised exclusively of women motoring journalists,” and is intended to recognize the best cars of the world and “to give a voice to women in the automotive world.” (Disclosure: This author is one of the three judges in Canada.)
Rather than select a “women’s car,” the judges look at all aspects — and so along with factors such as practicality and family-friendliness, they also consider engine performance, driving and handling characteristics, features, styling, value, and more.
This year, 81 vehicles were eligible for the awards, which require that a vehicle be all-new or significantly updated, and launched in at least two continents or 40 countries between January and December 2024. The category winners are below.
Urban Model: Mini Cooper
Compact SUV: Kia EV3
Large Car: Audi A6 e-tron
Large SUV: Hyundai Santa Fe
4×4 and Pickup: Toyota Land Cruiser
Performance and Luxury Car: Porsche Panamera
The WWCOTY also handed out two additional awards. The Best Tech Award went to China-based electric-car company BYD, on the basis of its “Blade Battery” technology. The LFP (lithium-ferro-phosphate) battery has higher energy density and is less prone to damage. The award also recognizes BYD’s dual-mode plug-in hybrid system.
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