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Daily Digest: Cars of the Year 2025, the departed Arteon and other industry events

The results of the European Car of the Year 2025 competition were announced at the Brussels Motor Show that opened today.. The jury, comprising 60 people from 23 countries, chose the electric hatchback Renault 5, which also has a driver's version called the Alpine A290, as the winner: this duo scored 353 points. For Renault, this is already the eighth victory in 62 years of the European competition, and the previous gold was taken only last year with the Renault Scenic crossover. This time, silver went to the Kia EV3 SUV (291 points), and bronze to the Citroen C3 hatchback (215 points). The traditional seven finalists also included Hyundai Inster (172), Dacia Duster (168), Cupra Terramar (165) and Alfa Romeo Junior (136).

The winners of a similar North American competition 2025 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year were also announced.. A team of 50 jury members traditionally chose the best cars in three nominations. Among passenger cars, the Honda Civic Hybrid (new to the US) won, ahead of the Kia K4 and Toyota Camry. The electric minivan Volkswagen ID. Buzz was named the utility vehicle of the year (the top three also included the Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevrolet Equinox crossovers), and among trucks, the Ford Ranger took gold, ahead of the Ram 1500 and Toyota Tacoma pickups.

Subaru WRX S210 sedan unveiled at Tokyo Motor Show, modified by the STI division (Subaru Tecnica International). The main difference of the new version was the turbo engine 2.4 forced to 300 hp (plus 25 hp), although the torque has not changed (375 Nm). It is combined with a Subaru Performance Transmission variator, which received an improved cooling system. Additional body reinforcements and Brembo brakes are installed. On the outside, the WRX S210 stands out with an additional carbon fiber body kit, a spoiler and forged BBS wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires of size 255/35R19. 500 copies of the Subaru WRX S210 will be produced.

Also hot hatch Honda Civic Type R Racing Black  is presented in Tokyo strong>Package. Technically, this is a standard Civic Type R, the only functional modification is the standard spoiler on the stern, and the rest of the features of the new special version are limited to black decor on the body and special interior design. Suede is widely used for finishing: it covers the seats, dashboard, door trims, steering wheel rim and other elements. This hatchback costs 6 million yen ($38,000) versus 5 million for the base Type R.

Korean premium brand Genesislaunched its own customization program called One of One. As usual, the customer will be able to choose from a wide range of exterior design options and interior trim materials. To demonstrate the possibilities, the Genesis GV80 Coupe One of One crossover was prepared, which stands out with its two-tone exterior paint and interior trim. For now, the Genesis One of One program is only available in the Middle East markets, but may later expand beyond its borders.

Following the recent announcement of the alliance between Nissan and Hondainformation about the upcoming “borrowing” of models began to appear. For example, the management of Honda has set its sights on the full-size SUVs of its new partners. First of all, we are talking about the frame giants Nissan Patrol and Armada of the new generation. There are no such cars in the range of Honda, and their appearance will strengthen its position in the North American market. In short, in the foreseeable future, the Nissan Patrol should see the light of day under the Honda brand.

Production of the Volkswagen Arteon model has been discontinued. The liftback, which appeared in 2017, retired two years ago, and now the last station wagon has rolled off the assembly line at the Osnabrück plant. Initially, the company planned to produce the Arteon Shooting Brake until 2026, but the large-scale restructuring of the Volkswagen concern made its own adjustments. Over the past eight years, 190,000 Arteons of both body types have been produced.

Since January 1, 2025, the recycling fee on cars in Russia has increased again, and this increase has affected electric cars for the first time, since the previous increase (from October 1, 2024) did not apply to them. Previously, when importing battery-powered cars up to three years old, you had to pay a recycling fee of 32,600 rubles, and for cars older than three years – 122 thousand rubles. Now the fee has increased to 667 thousand rubles and 1.17 million rubles, respectively. From now on, the recycling fee will be indexed annually.

Today we also talked about the Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e and Nissan R32 GT-R EV electric vehicles, the results of 2024 on the Russian market, the Mazda Racing Spirit Roadster and Toyota GR Yaris M sports cars.