The new Honda City was awarded the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2009 while the Yamaha YZF-R15 was chosen the Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) 2009.
The awards were presented by R P Singhania, vice chairman and managing director, JK Tyre Industries, to the senior managements of Honda Siel Cars India led by Chairman Mr Siddharth Shriram and India Yamaha Motor led by MD & CEO Y Tsuji at a ceremony held here on Monday.
The jury for the awards usually comprise senior journalists from leading motor magazines in the country. This year, the jury consisted of journalists from magazines such as Auto Bild, Auto India, Business Standard Motoring, BBC Top Gear, Car India, Bike India and Overdrive.
Only new cars and bikes launched in the calendar year 2008 qualified for the car of the year and motorcycle of the year awards. The seven finalists for the Indian Car of the Year were the Hyundai i20, Honda City, Maruti Suzuki A-Star, Skoda Fabia, Tata Indica Vista, Toyota Altis and Volkswagen Jetta. Among motorcycles, the Yamaha YZF-R15 and the FZ16 and the Honda Stunner were the finalists.
The City emerged the winner with 68 points, while i20 was second with 62 points. Fabia, with 58 points, was third. In the motorcycle category, the YZF-R15 was declared winner with 44 points. The FZ-16 was second (37 points) and the Stunner was third (21 points).
The Indian Car of the Year award has been instituted in line with the European, American and Australian Car of the Year awards and recognises the efforts of the Indian auto industry. The winner of the prestigious award in 2006 was the Maruti Suzuki Swift. In 2007, the Honda Civic was crowned winner and in 2008, it was the Hyundai i10. The Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2008 was the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi.
In December 2008, Business Standard Motoring had also declared the Honda City as its Car Of The Year 2009.