Update : Ford Figo is awarded the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2011 while the Honda CB Twister is the Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) 2011
Here is the Press Release
THE INDIAN CAR OF THE YEAR & INDIAN MOTORCYCLE OF THE YEAR 2011 ANNOUNCED
~The prestigious ICOTY goes to Ford Figo and IMOTY award goes to Honda CB Twister~
Mumbai, December 15, 2010: JK Tyre, in association with the top auto magazines in India, today presented the most prestigious awards in the automotive industry – the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2011 and the Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2011 (IMOTY). In line with the American Car of the Year, European Car of the Year and Japanese Car of the Year, these awards are at par with international standards and are the most prestigious auto awards of the country.
The nominees were judged by a panel of senior automobile experts who got together to vote for the most impressive car and motorcycle of the year. Using their analytic skills and competence, the expert jury evaluated and tested the cars and motorcycles nominated. The voting system is very fair and transparent which makes the ICOTY and IMOTY amongst the most credible and coveted awards.
Ford Figo was conferred with the Indian Car of the Year 2011 and Honda CB Twister bagged the Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2011.
Congratulating the winners of ICOTY & IMOTY, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. said, “We are here to celebrate the achievements of the Indian automobile industry and to honour the focused and rigorous efforts made by auto makers in the areas of Design excellence and innovation and R&D. The ‘Indian Car of the Year’ and ‘Indian Motorcycle of the Year’ awards recognize the auto manufacturer with the highest level of performance in terms of product development, quality, timely delivery, competitive pricing, project management and customer service.”
The cars and motorcycles nominated were judged on various parameters such as price, fuel efficiency, design, comfort, safety, manoeuvrability, performance, functionality, environmental responsibility and driver/rider satisfaction among others. In addition, technical innovation and value for money were particularly important factors while deciding on the winner.
Cars and motorcycles that have had cosmetic facelifts or small mechanical changes like different power or drive trains, do not qualify for these awards. The country of origin does not matter, but they have to be sold in showrooms in India before 30th November of the previous year and should have been homologated for Indian type approval.
“The Indian Car of the Year award reflects India’s standing in the global automotive market. It recognizes the efforts made by manufacturers to give us Indians the cars that have been engineered with us in mind. Over six years, the ICOTY award has grown in stature and today, it’s something that all car manufacturers in India aspire for,” said Srinivas Krishnan, Editor, Business Standard Motoring and Chairman, ICOTY 2011.
On winning the ICOTY award Michael Boneham, President& MD, Ford India said, “Coming close on the heels of the Figo’s immense popularity with over 58,000 units sold in past eight months, this industry-wide recognition truly establishes it as a performance car. The critical acclaim from the experts reinforces the faith in Figo as one of the best products in its class available today.”
The esteemed jury for ICOTY comprised Bob Rupani and Gautam Sen from Auto India, Sirish Chandran and Bertrand D’Souza from Overdrive, Girish Karkera and Sriram Narayanan from Top Gear, Aspi Bhathena from Car India, Srinivas Krishnan and Pablo Chaterji from Business Standard Motoring and Yogendra Pratap and Vikrant Singh from Auto Bild.
The jury of IMOTY included Bertrand D’Souza and Shubhabrata Marmar from Overdrive, Girish Karkera and Debabrata Sarkar from Top Gear, Aspi Bhathena from Bike India, Pablo Chaterji from Business Standard Motoring and Vikrant Singh from Auto Bild. This 13-member specialist jury consisting of senior Indian automotive journalists is the best from the industry and together they have over 300 years of experience.
In the ICOTY Category, while Ford Figo emerged as the clear winner with 83 points, Volkswagen Vento came second with 57 points. There was a tie for the third spot between Volkswagen polo and Skoda Yeti with 37 points.
There was a close clash between the top three motorcycles in the IMOTY category. Honda CB Twister won with 66 points while giving close competition was Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS with 63 points. TVS Jive was in third position with 48 points.
The finalists for the ICOTY category this year were Chevrolet Beat, Ford Figo, Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, Nissan Micra, Skoda Yeti, Tata Aria, Volkswagen Polo and Volkswagen Vento. The finalists for the IMOTY category were Bajaj Pulsar 135LS, Bajaj Discover 150, Honda CB Twister, Mahindra Stallio, TVS Jive and TVS Max4R.
India’s youngest F1 driver Karun Chandhok and India’s youngest karting champion Jehan Daruvala were also present at the award ceremony. Famous celebrity, Sophie Chowdhury added glitz and glamour to the award ceremony and enthralled the audiences with her mind-blowing performance.
ICOTY and IMOTY (Indian Car / Motorcycle of the year) is the most prestigious award to be won by a car or two-wheeler selling in India. In its sixth year, ICOTY 2011, the most coveted of all the car and bike awards will be given away tonight. We’ll bring you the updates as we get them. The IMOTY award, which was constituted two years later, is running into its fourth year this time.
The contenders for this year’s ICOTY are
Chevrolet Beat
Ford Figo
Maruti Suzuki Wagon R
Nissan Micra
Skoda Yeti
Tata Aria
Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Vento
You must be wondering as to why the Toyota Etios was not included in the contenders’ list. Well, the cut-off date for a car to qualify for ICOTY is 30th November, and as you know, the Etios was officially launched on the 1st of December, a day later.
The nominees for IMOTY 2011 are
Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS
Bajaj Discover 150
Honda CB Twister
Mahindra Stallio
TVS Jive
TVS Max-4R
ICOTY awards were constituted in the year 2006 by the leading auto magazines in the country. Senior journalists from all these magazines vote to choose their Car of the Year. Two journalists are allowed to vote from each publication. The car that gets the maximum votes is the winner. It’s notable that Autocar India, which is by far the leading auto publication in India, is not a part of these awards. They withdrew from the awards as the group was not allowed their additional two votes for their What Car? magazine, which is also a proper auto magazine.
Here’s a list of the previous winner of ICOTY
Maruti Suzuki Swift (2006)
Honda Civic (2007)
Hyundai i10 (2008)
Honda City (2009)
Tata Nano (2010).
The previous winners of IMOTY are
Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi (2008)
Yamaha R15 (2009)
Kawasaki Ninja 250R (2010).
We are waiting with baited breath to know who the winner is, and trust us to bring to you the updates as soon as they emerge