2012 ICOTY & IMOTY Awards Announced

The winners of the most prestigious automotive awards in the country, the 2012 Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY), were announced at an event in New Delhi on the eve of the ongoing 2012 Auto Expo. This award is modeled on the lines of the popular North American Car and Truck of the Year and European Car of the Year titles, wherein a group of journalists from top automotive media come together and decide the winners.

Unlike 2011, when Ford Figo went on to win every single 'Car of the Year' award in the country to become India's most awarded car ever, this year saw a spate of high profile models being launched in India that fought hard for victory making the life of jurors tougher. Models like Mahindra XUV500, Maruti-Suzuki Swift, Hyundai Verna, Hyundai Eon and Honda Brio are all extremely competent in their own right and have won many individual awards themselves.

In the final tally, it was the Maruti-Suzuki Swift that came out on top with its winning combination of looks, space, frugality and fun-to-drive factor. With this, the second generation Swift has ensured that the legacy of its predecessor, which won the inaugral ICOTY award in 2006 before going on to smash all sales records in India, remains intact. Though Swift has been declared the winner, we are sure that models like Mahindra XUV500 and Hyundai Verna are amongst the best in their segments too and are no less competent.

2012 ICOTY RESULTS:

   Winner - Maruti-Suzuki Swift

PREVIOUS ICOTY WINNERS:

   * 2011 - Ford Figo
   * 2010 – Tata Nano
   * 2009 – Honda City
   * 2008 – Hyundai i10
   * 2007 – Honda Civic

It seems that, unlike the ICOTY award, choosing the winner of IMOTY award was an unanimous decision with the Honda CBR250R coming out easily on top. Honda's all-new model that was developed specifically for the Asian markets has created quite a ripple with people inside and outside the industry going gaga over it. The fact that it introduced Antilock Braking System in a motorcycle in India amongst its other innovative features and technologies makes it a worthy winner. This is the second year in a row Honda has won this award.

2012 IMOTY RESULTS:

   Winner - Honda CBR 250R

PREVIOUS IMOTY WINNERS:

   * 2011 - Honda CB Twister
   * 2010 - Kawasaki Ninja 250R
   * 2009 - Yamaha YZF R15
   * 2008 - Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi

Images Source: Overdrive (www.overdrive.in)