The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada announced the 2025 Canadian Car of the Year award winners, and the car of the year honours went to a vehicle built in this country.

The CCOTY awards were announced Thursday, Feb. 13 at the media preview day of the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.

The four winners are:

• Canadian Car of the Year – Honda Civic
• Canadian Electric Car of the Year – BMW i4
• Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year – Hyundai Santa Fe
• Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year – Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

“Every year I’m proud of the Canadian Car of the Year team and our AJAC expert jurors, and this year is no different,” AJAC president Evan Williams in a news release. “Our 47 expert jurors from all across the country drove every vehicle before casting their ballots, covering the same Canadian roads and in the same Canadian conditions you face day every day. It’s why I’m so confident that each year we can identify the best vehicles for Canadians, be it a car or utility vehicle, with gas or electric power. Congratulations to BMW, Honda and Hyundai on your well-earned wins.”

Honda Civic Hybrid

Honda launched the Civic Hybrid for the 2025 model year, which is the model that won the car of the year honours. It also won the 2025 North American Car of the Year award, which was announced in January. The Civic also previously won the Canadian Car of the Year award in 2022.

Honda splits the North American production of the Civic between two plants, one in Alliston, Ont. and the other in Greensburg, Indiana, with the sedan models built at the Honda of Canada Mfg. plant in Alliston and the hatchback models built in Indiana.

“We remain impressed and humbled at the awards and accolades the 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid is receiving, these distinctions are a result of our hardworking engineers and talented associates at Honda of Canada Mfg. who design and build the Civic,” said Emile Korkor, assistant vice president of Honda Canada, in a news release. “The quality, reliability and popularity of our hybrid vehicles bodes well for the future of our brand as we continue to further electrify our models. We want to thank AJAC for this prestigious award and our Canadian customers for making Civic Canada’s best-selling car.”

The Civic Hybrid is powered by a powertrain with 200 hp and 232 lb.-ft. of torque.

BMW i4

The BMW i4 previously won the Canadian Car of the Year award in 2023, and was revised for 2025.

The 2025 model is available in rear-wheel and all-wheel drive variants, with some versions offering up to 512 kilometres of range or 536 hp.

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the automobile journalists in Canada for consistently recognizing the merits of the BMW i4,” said Andrew Scott, president and CEO of BMW Group Canada, in a news release. “We would also like to thank our staff, retailer network and partners for their unwavering commitment in effectively communicating the exceptional qualities of the BMW i4 to automotive journalists, our customers and the wider Canadian public alike. Their efforts have been instrumental in showcasing the i4 as the premier choice on the electric vehicle market.”

Hyundai Santa Fe

The redesigned Hyundai Santa Fe SUV impressed AJAC jurors for its interior ergonomics, infotainment system and refinement.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is not short on accolades. The non-N version previously won several CCOTY awards in past years, and the high-performance N model has impressed judges around the world. It also won the World Performance Car award at the 2024 World Car Awards.

It is powered by an electric propulsion system with 641 hp.

More information on the CCOTY awards is available at canadiancaroftheyear.ca.

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