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IAF Car of the Year Eligibility & Submission Rules

Eligibility & Submission Rules

This page defines who may submit a vehicle, how eligibility is reviewed, how official candidate status is assigned, and what conditions may lead to exclusion or removal from the programme.

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Main rules

These rules exist to protect comparability, credibility and procedural fairness. A submitted vehicle is not automatically treated as an official candidate. Each entry is first reviewed against baseline eligibility requirements, documentation standards and programme conditions before it may proceed to the public evaluation stages.

Evaluation Criteria
Core principle

Only vehicles that can be reviewed under sufficiently clear, documented and comparable conditions should proceed into official candidate and shortlist stages.

Eligibility requirements

A vehicle may be considered eligible for IAF Car of the Year when it meets the baseline requirements below. These requirements may be refined from one cycle to another, but the underlying objective remains consistent: the programme should evaluate vehicles that are genuinely introduced during the relevant period and available as real, customer-facing products.

Eligibility window

The vehicle must fall within the programme’s defined introduction or market-entry period.

Production status

The vehicle must be a production model rather than a concept, demonstration prototype or non-customer specification unit.

Market availability

The vehicle must demonstrate sufficient market availability or confirmed market presence to support meaningful assessment.

Road approval

The vehicle must be road-legal and supported by the necessary approvals, homologation or equivalent compliance status.

Clarifications
  • Facelifts or minor refreshes may be eligible only where the programme determines that the changes are substantial enough to justify renewed evaluation.
  • Limited-production or highly restricted variants may be considered only where evaluation remains meaningful and publicly relevant.
  • Performance, electric or derivative versions may be reviewed within the nominated model definition where this can be documented clearly and assessed consistently.
Baseline information

Submitted vehicles should be supported by sufficient technical and public-facing information to allow consistent review, including model definition, specifications, safety systems overview, availability context and relevant market documentation.

Submission process

Vehicle entries may be initiated through approved programme channels. Submission begins the review process, but it does not by itself create official candidate status. Each entry must first pass an eligibility and documentation review before it may proceed further within the programme.

Who may submit?
  • Manufacturers and official brand representatives
  • Authorised distributors or recognised market entities
  • Programme-authorised internal channels where permitted by the cycle rules
  • Other approved submitting entities where the programme expressly allows this and eligibility can still be verified
Application
Submission stages
  1. Entry submission: vehicle identification, model scope and supporting information are provided.
  2. Administrative review: required materials, declarations and programme documentation are checked.
  3. Eligibility review: baseline compliance is assessed against the published rules.
  4. Clarification stage: additional information or supporting evidence may be requested where needed.
  5. Status decision: the vehicle is either declined, held pending clarification, or recognised as an official candidate.

Official candidate status

Official candidate status is assigned only after successful review. This distinction is important: a submitted entry is a vehicle under review, whereas an official candidate is a vehicle that has satisfied the programme’s baseline requirements and is accepted into the recognised evaluation pathway.

What official candidate status means
  • The vehicle has passed the programme’s baseline eligibility review.
  • The model definition is sufficiently clear for fair and documented evaluation.
  • Supporting information is adequate for the vehicle to proceed within the programme structure.
  • The vehicle may be included in candidate-stage programme communications, where applicable.
What it does not mean
  • It does not guarantee inclusion in the shortlist.
  • It does not guarantee finalist status or award selection.
  • It does not prevent later exclusion if material inconsistencies emerge.
  • It does not override the programme’s governance, testing or scoring controls.
Submission-related fees, where applicable, support the administration and review of the entry. They do not guarantee official candidate recognition, shortlist inclusion, finalist status or award outcome.

Shortlisting logic

The shortlist exists to ensure that official candidates can be compared meaningfully and reviewed with sufficient depth. Not every official candidate progresses to this stage. Shortlisting helps preserve evaluation quality, procedural consistency and practical comparability.

What the shortlist is intended to support
  • Comparability: vehicles can be assessed against shared criteria under sufficiently similar conditions.
  • Relevance: the shortlist reflects vehicles with meaningful market presence and clear public relevance.
  • Evaluation depth: each shortlisted vehicle can receive adequate review time and analysis.
  • Model clarity: nominated configurations remain stable and understandable throughout review.
What the shortlist is intended to avoid
  • Candidate groups that are too broad to evaluate with sufficient consistency.
  • Vehicles with unclear scope, unstable specifications or insufficient comparability.
  • Entries whose real-world assessment is too limited to support meaningful comparison.
  • Programme stages that prioritise volume over evidence-based evaluation quality.
Next: Testing process

Exclusion and removal conditions

Exclusion or removal measures are used carefully and only where necessary to protect programme integrity. A vehicle may be excluded before candidate recognition, or removed at a later stage, if eligibility cannot be confirmed, documentation proves materially insufficient, or the nominated scope changes in ways that undermine fair comparison.

Illustrative grounds
  • Production timing or customer availability no longer supports the original submission basis.
  • Required market, approval or documentation conditions cannot be verified.
  • The nominated vehicle definition changes materially during the review cycle.
  • The programme determines that consistent and fair assessment is no longer possible.
Governance note

Removal or exclusion decisions are subject to internal programme controls. Where appropriate, clarifications may be requested before a final determination is made, and the reasoning is documented in support of fairness, consistency and traceability. More detail is available on the Transparency & Governance page.

Explore the programme

About Car of the Year

Purpose and scope of the programme.
Jury & Voting

Evaluation structure, voting and decision safeguards.
Testing Process

How shortlisted vehicles are reviewed in practice.
Evaluation Criteria

Weighted scoring, definitions, and evaluation structure.

Transparency & Governance

Oversight mechanisms and integrity safeguards.

Back to overview

Return to the main programme page.

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