40 cars in the running for 2025 Irish Car of the Year

In partnership with Continental Tyres, 40 new vehicles will compete for the coveted title of Irish Car of the Year 2025. The winners of the 2025 Irish Car of the Year awards programme will be revealed at a gala event at the Conrad Hotel in Dublin on Friday 15 November.

The Irish Car of the Year award is voted for by a panel of judges from the Motor Media Association of Ireland (MMAI), which is made up of 29 of Ireland’s most experienced motoring journalists, and is designed to highlight for Irish motorists the best cars launched in the country this year, taking into account the specific needs of the Irish market.

This writer has been a voting member of the Irish Car of the Year judging panel since 2016 and I’m looking forward to voting again in this year’s competition, which features a staggering number of competing models vying for the top prize.

Eligible cars will be divided into different categories, with multiple category winners to be announced on the evening, who will compete for the overall title of Irish Car of the Year. To be eligible, vehicles must be new generation models arriving in dealer showrooms between November 1, 2023 and October 31, 2024.

Daragh Keany, President of MMAI, said:

“The automotive manufacturing industry has experienced a series of shocks over the past few years, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and followed by a global semiconductor shortage. These events have severely reduced or delayed the production and launch of new vehicles over the years.

However, this year’s Irish Car of the Year awards saw 40 exciting new entries, eight more than last year, showing that the automotive industry here is not only surviving, but thriving. The MMAI judges are very excited and it will be a tough job as we work through the eligible vehicles and voting process over the next few weeks.”

Tom Dennigan of the award sponsor, German premium tire brand Continental Tire, said:

“We’re proud to be partnering once again with the Irish Car of the Year Awards, which celebrates the best car launched in Ireland each year. Electric cars have really stood out over the last few years – four years running, the overall Irish Car of the Year winner has been an electric car, but it remains to be seen whether that will be the case for the 2025 winner, 17 of the 40 entries were fully electric models, so they are definitely likely to win, but by no means a sure thing!”

The Irish Car of the Year Awards are Ireland’s most prestigious and longest-running automotive awards, first presented in 1978.

Last year’s 2024 Irish Car of the Year winner was the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 6.

The full list of nominees for the 2025 Irish Car of the Year awards is as follows:

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By Caroline Kidd

Founder and Editor of Changing Lanes, Irish Car of the Year judge

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