Hyundai Ioniq 5, Royal Enfield Himalayan the big winners at Autocar Awards 2024

Hyundai’s all-electric Ioniq 5 has bagged the Car of the Year, while the Royal Enfield Himalayan was adjudged as the Bike of the Year at the 2024 Autocar Awards ceremony held in Mumbai last night.

To win the title, the electric Ioniq 5 had to face some fierce competition from the likes of the Exter, Maruti Fronx, Hyundai Verna, Citroen C3 Aircross, Maruti Suzuki Jimny, and more. The Himalayan didn't have it easy either, emerging on top in a category that had a variety of motorcycles like the Triumph Speed 400, KTM Duke 390, Royal Enfield Classic 350 and Harley Davidson X440.

2024 Autocar Awards category winners: cars

Apart from being crowned the Car of the Year, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 also bagged the EV of the Year award. Moving to the category above, the Luxury EV of the Year was the BMW i7, which beat tough competitors like the Lotus Eletre and the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV. 

Reflecting the shifting market preferences in the hatchback segment, there were just two contenders this year, both electric. The Citroen eC3 beat the MG Comet to take home the award for the Hatchback of the Year.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Exter bagged the Compact SUV of the Year. The MPV of the Year was the Innova Hycross-based Maruti Suzuki Invicto, triumphing over the Toyota Rumion – which, in turn, is based on the Maruti Ertiga.

The Midsize SUV segment has seen immense growth in India, and this year’s nominees consisted of the Citroen C3 Aircross, the electric Mahindra XUV400 and Honda Elevate – the Honda was crowned the Midsize SUV of the Year. The Mercedes-Benz GLC, on the other hand, was awarded the Luxury SUV of the Year title, defeating the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. 

Amongst the many performance cars launched last year, the PHEV Lamborghini Revuelto stood out and stood strong, making the Performance Car of the Year. With its sharp styling, the Maruti Fronx caught the eyes of the jurors and it was awarded the Best Design and Styling. There were a multitude of facelifts introduced last year, but the Tata Nexon EV facelift took home the title of the Variant/Update of the Year. 

2024 Autocar Awards category winners: bikes

The new Himalayan is the most radically different motorcycle modern-day bike Royal Enfield has ever made, and was declared the Bike of the Year. The stylish Hero Xoom was crowned as the scooter of the year, coming out on top against competition that included the Ola S1 Air and Ather 450S. While it might be expensive, the Ultraviolette F77 is impressive, which is why it trumped other nominees and clinched the Electric Two-wheeler of the Year. 

With its move to V4 power, the Ducati Diavel makes a great proposition, which is why we crowned it as the Import Bike of the Year. And with its exceptional handling and ballistic engine, BMW’s litre-class weapon, the S1000 RR, was announced the Performance Bike of the Year. The Indian Performance Bike of the Year was awarded to the explosive KTM Duke 390, which got its most comprehensive update last year. 

Viewers' Choice and Industry awards 

We asked our viewers to vote for their favourite Car and Bike of 2023: the Honda Elevate and Royal Enfield Himalayan emerged as the winners. Mahindra Automotive was announced the Manufacturer of the Year, while Maruti Suzuki India MD, Hisashi Takeuchi, won the Person of the Year award for his work towards taking the company to the top in the SUV segment.