Car Awards is a program that votes for and honors outstanding products in the automotive industry, organized annually by VnExpress newspaper since 2021. Car Awards 2023 officially started in July 2023 and concluded with the awards ceremony yesterday, January 14, 2024. This year’s Car Awards consists of 3 categories: “Car of the Year by Segments,” “New Star,” and “Car of the Year in the Whole Market.”
1. Car of the Year by Segments:
The Car of the Year by Segments is an award that honors outstanding car models in the overall market and specifically in various segments in 2023. The scored cars need to be launched between December 2022 and November 2023. To ensure thorough product experience, cars that were launched in the year but have not yet been delivered to customers, or have very few deliveries, will not be included in the nomination list.
At the same time, to ensure competitiveness, Car Awards will only honor Car of the Year in segments with at least three car models launched. As of November 2023, the Vietnamese market has 6 segments that meet this criterion, including: Low B-segment cars, B-segment crossovers, C-segment crossovers, D-segment SUV/crossovers, Small premium SUVs, and Mid-size premium SUVs.
The scored car models are based on over 40 criteria from 7 groups including: Exterior design; Interior design; Convenience features; Driver assistance; Performance; Safety technology; and Operating cost. To be closer to market dynamics, this year, the Car of the Year award will also consider “sales figures” as an additional criterion for evaluation, when multiple car models have the same highest score in a segment or in the whole market. The model with better average monthly sales will have an advantage to become the Car of the Year in the segment or in the whole market.
In its third year, Car Awards 2023 continues to apply the “importance coefficient” formula, reflecting the level of importance of each factor in consumers’ car-buying decisions. Each criterion is scored from 0-5 points (0.5 increments), then multiplied by the corresponding “importance coefficient,” with values of 1-3. In this coefficient system, highly important criteria are multiplied by a coefficient of 3, moderately important criteria are multiplied by a coefficient of 2, and less important criteria are multiplied by a coefficient of 1. The coefficients for each criterion will differ between the petrol/diesel and electric vehicle groups, as well as between the premium and non-premium groups. For example, safety technology has an importance coefficient of 3 for all types of cars, while interior material has a coefficient of 2 for non-premium cars and a coefficient of 3 for premium cars.
After being scored on all criteria and multiplied by the corresponding coefficients, a car model can receive a maximum of 400 points. The car model with the highest score will become the Car of the Year in each segment.
Based on the above scoring criteria, the leading car models in each segment according to the competition’s voting are:
Car of the Year in the Low B-segment: Honda City
Car of the Year in the B-segment Crossover: VinFast VF6
Car of the Year in the C-segment Crossover: Honda CR-V
Car of the Year in the D-segment SUV/Crossover: Kia Sorento hybrid
Car of the Year in the Small premium SUV segment: Mercerdes-Benz GLC
Car of the Year in the Mid-size premium SUV segment: Porsche Cayenne
2. Car of the Year 2023: Honda CR-V
This is the overall award of Car Awards 2023, selected by the organizers from the top-ranked car models in each segment, along with car models in unranked segments (only 1-2 car models launched in the year).
The judges selected the car model to be honored in this award category based on the following criteria:
(1) Outstanding performance in the segment
(2) Trend-setting and demand-inspiring abilities
(3) Accessibility to customers in the segment
Finally, CR-V was named the Car of the Year 2023.
3. New Star: VinFast VF5
This is an unranked category, chosen by the organizers to honor new car models that have made a unique impression in the Vietnamese automotive industry, possess advanced technologies, and are highly rated by customers. This title belongs to Vinfast VF5.
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[CAR REVIEW] Honda CR-V: Impressive driving experience, Honda Sensing safety, and fuel efficiency impress users
According to Chu Tung, a car owner in Thai Nguyen, the Honda CR-V is a highly recommended choice, offering spaciousness for families, an exhilarating driving experience, and safe handling thanks to the Honda Sensing technology package. These values become even more apparent as you continue to use the car.