Ford Everest named as the 2015 Thailand Car of the Year!

The Ford Everest has been crowned as the 2015 Thailand Car of the Year by top automotive journalists who are members of the Thai Automotive Journalists Association (TAJA).

The Everest, which is categorized in the Thai market as a pickup passenger vehicle (PPV), beat 5 other contenders – the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Mazda2, Honda HR-V, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Nissan X-Trail – all of which entered the final round through preliminary round voting by over 50 TAJA members, who all test cars as part of their journalistic work and are considered professionals in this field.

Watchara Thammasri, president of the Thai Automotive Journalists Association (TAJA) presented the trophy of the inaugural Thailand Car of the Year award to Ford Thailand managing director Yukontorn Wisadkosin (below).

“This is the first time that we are organizing this event and the purpose is to stimulate the automobile industry to offer better products for the benefit of consumers,” he said.

There is only one winner, and the voting process is designed for that purpose. No matter what the points are, all vehicles other than the winner are declared as joint runners-up. There are no categories, and vehicles from all segments are included.

Watchara added that the Car of the Year award is different from many other existing awards in Thailand.

“Unlike others, we are totally transparent and the points from the jury members will be made public on TAJA’s website,” he added.

It was an intense battle between the top three finishers – the Everest received 110 points edging out the Pajero Sport with 109 points, while the Mazda2 received 106.5 points. The HR-V received 85.5 points while the C-Class and X-Trail received 83 points and 56.points respectively.

Vehicles that qualify must be locally-assembled new models, have domestic sales of at least 500 units and must be launched from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015.

During the final round, the first round scores are discarded, and all 6 vehicles were brought together at the Thailand Circuit in Nakhon Chaisri on February 2, with 25 respected automotive journalists from every field including print, television, radio and internet, serving as the jury.

The jury members are given the vehicles for final testing and asked to consider the all-round quality of the vehicles, including design, technology, performance, fuel economy, eco-friendliness and value for money, before casting their votes.

In the final round, each juror has 25 points at his/her disposal to at least 5 cars, with a maximum of 10 points being given to the one vehicle he/she thinks is the best candidate, and presents a statement for his/her decision.

Other models launched last year that were eliminated after first-round voting included the MG3, Mitsubishi Triton, Suzuki Ciaz, Toyota Hilux Revo and Toyota Fortuner.