Hyundai Creta wins the prestigious Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2016 Award

The Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2016 was announced at a glittering and glamorous ceremony in Delhi on December 18, 2015. On behalf of the esteemed Jury of ICOTY 2016, Dr Raghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited very kindly handed over the Indian Car of the Year trophy to the team of Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

This was the 11th edition of the ICOTY, which has emerged as the most credible and coveted award and is now the 'Oscar' of Indian automotive awards. This award is an expert and independent judgment of the best new car and the award has been getting increasingly prominent with each passing year. JK Tyre has been sponsoring the award ceremony of the ICOTY ever since its inception.

From left to right: Bob Rupani (chairman, ICOTY) , Rakesh ‎Srivastava (senior VP, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India), YK Koo (MD, Hyundai Motor India) and Dr Raghupati Singhania (chairman and MD, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd)

Of all the new cars launched in 2015 qualified for these awards and 10 made it to the final jury round held in Lonavala at Khushru Patel's beautiful bungalow on 4th December, 2015. The top contenders were the Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Renault Kwid, Honda Jazz and Ford Figo Aspire. The Hyundai Creta emerged the winner scoring 96 points and the Maruti Suzuki Baleno with 85 points was a very close second. The Renault Kwid with 71 points was third, the Ford Figo Aspire got 36 points and the Honda Jazz 32 points.

The Jury of ICOTY 2016 included Yogendra Pratap (Auto Today), Rahul Ghosh (Auto Today), Dhruv Behl (Auto X), Ishan Raghava (Auto X), Rohin Nagrani (Motoring World), Aspi Bhathena (Car India), Aninda Sarda (Car India), Bertrand D'souza (Overdrive), Bob Rupani (Overdrive), Girish Karkera (BBC Top Gear), Sirish Chandran (Evo India), Ouseph Chacko (Evo India), Muralidhar Swaminathan (The Hindu Business Line) and Pablo Chaterji (Mans World). In all nine very prestigious publications were represented on the ICOTY 2016 Jury with Bob Rupani being the Chairman of the Jury.

This specialist jury consisting of fourteen senior Indian automotive journalists is the best from the industry and together they have over 200 years of car evaluation experience. The jury is known for their analytical skills and competence in evaluating and testing cars, as a part of their profession. The highly experienced jury members are responsible for selecting a single decisive winner and the voting process has been designed to be very fair and unbiased and tamper proof. Thanks to all this, the ICOTY trophy is the one every manufacture wants to win. The ICOTY award is in line with international standards and modeled on the American Car of the Year, European Car of the Year and Japanese Car of the Year.

Indian Car of the Year 2016 jury members pose with all the cars launched in 2015 that were in contention for the ICOTY. The jury was led by Bob Rupani, consulting editor, OVERDRIVE. From left to right: Dhruv Behl (Auto X), Bertrand D'Souza (editor, OVERDRIVE), Girish Karkera (BBC Top Gear), Sirish Chandran (Evo India), Rahul Ghosh (Auto Today), Aninda Sarda (Car India), Pablo Chaterji (Mans World), Bob Rupani (chairman, ICOTY and consulting editor, OVERDRIVE), YK Koo (MD, Hyundai Motor India), Dr Raghupati Singhania (chairman and MD, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd), Rakesh ‎Srivastava (senior VP, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India), Rohin Nagrani (Motoring World), Aspi Bhathena (Car India), Yogendra Pratap (Auto Today), Muralidhar Swaminathan (The Hindu Business Line) and Ishan Raghava (Auto X)

The eligible cars are judged on various parameters such as price, fuel efficiency, styling, comfort, safety, features, performance, practicality, technical innovation, value for money and above all suitability for Indian consumers and driving conditions.

Congratulating the winners, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, "The automobile and auto-ancillary sector in India is growing at a fast pace. The consumer is ever-discerning and automakers seek to outperform each other. In such a competitive environment, JK Tyre and ICOTY & IMOTY Awards endeavour to recognise those who break the clutter with their innovation and deep understanding of the Indian consumer. Congratulations to Hyundai and their Creta for sailing through the rigorous judging process and emerging victorious."