EVs Dominate SUV of the Year, But Mostly Missing from Other NACTOY Categories

Electric vehicles (EVs) have featured prominently on vehicle of the year awards lists in recent years but, perhaps reflecting wider trends in the automotive industry, this year’s North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year Awards (NACTOY) are largely focused on internal combustion engine vehicles.

The organization revealed its nine finalists for vehicle of the year honours today and, despite there being two EVs in the SUV category, they’re largely absent from the car and truck categories.

Indeed, the all-electric Nissan Leaf and Lucid Gravity will compete for top honours as 2026’s North American SUV of the Year alongside the internal combustion (and optionally hybrid) Hyundai Palisade. They were selected from a wide pool of candidates that included the likes of the brand new Acura ADX, the titanic Escalade IQ, the avant-garde Hyundai Ioniq 9, and the old faithful Toyota RAV4, among others.

In the truck category meanwhile, the gas-only Ford Maverick Lobo, Ram 1500 Hemi, and Ram 2500 will compete for top honours. This category in particular is a celebration of all things internal combustion, with the returning V8 Hemi (which fancies itself a repudiation of electrification) and the non-hybrid performance-focused Maverick Lobo. These trucks’ elevation to the status of finalists mean that the all-electric Rivian R1T Quad Motor was denied a chance at victory in the category.

Finally, the gas-only Nissan Sentra and the hybrid Honda Prelude are fighting for the title of North American Car of the Year. They will compete with the Dodge Charger, which is available as an EV, but whose main differentiator in 2026 is the addition of an inline-six cylinder internal combustion engine and two extra doors. These cars were selected from a pool of candidates that included the Audi A5, the Kia K4 Hatchback, and the Mercedes-Benz CLA.

The finalists were selected by NACTOY’s jury, which is made up of automotive journalists from the U.S. and Canada, including AutoTrader’s own editor-in-chief, Jodi Lai. The jurors will now complete their evaluations of the finalist vehicles before casting their ballots. Each category’s winner will be announced on January 14, at the Detroit Auto Show.