JK Tyre presents – ICOTY 2026: Maruti Suzuki Victoris
It was quite a battle between some of the top-rated cars launched this year, and beating the rest was the Maruti Suzuki Victoris, which emerged victorious despite being the latest entrant in the Indian market. However, the road was not easy as it went up against the likes of the Hyundai Creta Electric, Hyundai Venue, Kia Syros, Škoda Kylaq, Tata Harrier EV, Kia Carens Clavis EV and the Mahindra XEV 9e. However, the most brutal battle was fought between the Maruti Suzuki Victoris, the Škoda Kylaq and the Mahindra XEV 9e. However, the esteemed jury members, including our very own editor and publisher, Abhay Verma, assessed the cars thoroughly and awarded points to each contender accordingly. And in the end, it was the Maruti Suzuki Victoris that scored the most points and was crowned the Indian Car of the Year 2026 (ICOTY 2026). Second place on the podium went to the Škoda Kylaq, with the Mahindra XEV 9e taking the final spot on the podium.
JK Tyre presents – Premium Car Award 2026 by ICOTY: Volkswagen Golf GTI
One of the most interesting categories at ICOTY is the Premium Car Award 2026, which sees luxury cars battle it out for the top honours, and this year’s winner was the Volkswagen Golf GTI. This global icon created waves in India even before its official launch. The VW Golf GTI won the Premium Car Award 2026 by ICOTY, with the Toyota Camry as first runner-up and the BMW iX1 LWB as second runner-up.
JK Tyre presents – Green Car Award 2026 by ICOTY: Mahindra XEV 9e
Sustainable mobility has been the trend for some time now, and Indian carmakers have proven their mettle in the electric vehicle category. This year, the Green Car Award 2026 by ICOTY went to the Mahindra XEV 9e, a homegrown product that impressed the judges the most and gained the most points. Closely following the Mahindra was the Kia Caren Clavis EV in second place, with the BMW iX1 LWB finishing third.
TURBOCHARGED at ICOTY
TURBOCHARGED is part of the esteemed ICOTY panel, where it is represented by Editor and Publisher – Abhay Verma, who started his journey in the industry as a journalist and moved on to play bigger roles within the automotive media industry for the last eighteen years and has been the force behind TURBOCHARGED for the last half a decade. It is an honour for us to be part of the ICOTY jury, which consists of credible senior journalists with decades of experience, and the combined knowledge and honesty of these stalwarts make ICOTY the biggest and most prestigious automotive awards in the country.
Esteemed ICOTY 2026 Jury Members
This year’s jury, besides Abhay Verma, Editor and Publisher, TURBOCHARGED, included Dhruv Behl, Editor-in-Chief and Founder, AutoX, Ishan Raghava, Managing Editor, AutoX, Yogendra Pratap, Editor Auto Today, Dipayan Dutta, Assistant Editor, Auto Today, Aspi Bhathena, Editor, Car India, Gaurav Davare, Correspondent, Car India, Sirish Chandran, Editorial Director, evo India, Aatish Mishra, Secretary ICOTY and Executive Editor, evo India, Pablo Chaterji, ICOTY 2026 Chairman and also Editor, Motoring World, Kartik Ware, Managing Editor, Motoring World, Kranti Sambhav, Editor, OVERDRIVE, Rohit Paradkar, Assistant Editor, OVERDRIVE, Vikrant Singh, Editorial Director, CarWale, Sagar Bhanushali, associate Editor, CarWale, Tushar Kamath, CarDekho and Zigwheels, Arpit Mahendra, Editor, Times of India Auto, Kushan Mitra, Contributing Editor – Automotive, The Print, and independent journalist Bob Rupani.
