Mercedes-Benz GLC, China’s Xpeng X9 Lead Winners Of 2027 German Car Of The Year Awards

The Volkswagen ID. Polo, Kia PV5, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Xpeng X9 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 N have emerged as the class winners of the German Car of the Year (GCOTY) Awards 2027 in a list chosen from new models launched over the past 12 months.

Selected by an independent jury of 47 German and international automotive journalists, the five vehicles took top honours across the Budget, Compact, Premium, Luxury and Performance categories, with the overall German Car of the Year 2027 set to be selected from these class winners.

The Volkswagen ID. Polo won the Budget category, which covers new model ranges with a starting price below €25,000, while the Kia PV5 claimed the Compact class for vehicles priced between €25,000 and €40,000.

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Meanwhile, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz GLC emerged as the winner of the Premium segment, covering vehicles priced from €40,000 to €70,000, while the Xpeng X9 took the Luxury category for models costing more than €70,000.

The Hyundai Ioniq 6 N was named the winner of the Performance class, becoming the company’s latest model to receive GCOTY accolades in recent years, following the IONIQ 9’s win in the Premium category for 2026 and the IONIQ 6’s win in the New Energy category for 2024.

German Car of the Year 2027

Dominated by electric and high-performance models, the five class winners will undergo two days of test drives before the jury selects the overall German Car of the Year 2027, with the result scheduled to be announced on November 2, 2026.

For the first time, the jury also selected winners for individual vehicle attributes, with the Geely E2 winning the Value award, while the Renault Twingo was recognised for Exterior Design and the BMW iX3 for Interior Design and Infotainment.

The Porsche 911 Turbo S received the award for Best Powertrain, while the Škoda Peaq was named Family Car of the Year. Škoda CEO Klaus Zellmer, who has been named Volvo Cars CEO, was named Automotive Person of the Year 2027 in recognition of his achievements in the industry.

“Nine years of German Car of the Year – that is a genuine success story. The award has become one of the most important independent honors in the automotive world, and it owes this standing above all to one thing: its openness to different perspectives,” VDA President Hildegard Müller said while describing the GCOTY as an important independent automotive honour.

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