On Feb 21 during the business brunch at Bochka restaurant the steering committee of TOP-5 AUTO award has announced the short-list of nominees of the fifth season. From the beginning of November 2016 the jury of the contest which currently consists of 45 reputable Russian automotive journalists evaluated 71 brand-new of substantially renewed models that had entered the Russian market in 2016 according to five main criteria: price-quality ratio, styling, technical innovations, comfort and usability. Based on these estimates five finalists which scored the highest mean average were chosen in each of categories.
These are the nominees of TOP-5 AUTO 2017:
- In COMPACT CITY CAR nomination:
- Audi A3
- Hyundai Elantra
- Infiniti Q30 / QX30
- Mazda 3
- Toyota Corolla
- In LARGE AND EXECUTIVE CITY CAR nomination:
- Genesis G90
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Porsche Panamera
- Škoda Superb Combi
- Volvo S90
In this category two of five finalists, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Volvo S90, have also hit the short-list of European Car of the Year 2017 Award.
- In COMPACT CROSSOVER / OFFROADER AND SUV nomination:
- Hyundai Creta
- Jaguar F-Pace
- Kia Sportage
- Renault Kaptur
- Volkswagen Tiguan
- In LARGE CROSSOVER / OFFROADER nomination:
- Cadillac XT5
- Hyundai Grand Santa Fe
- Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class
- Nissan Murano
- Toyota Land Cruiser 200
- In SPORTS CAR / COUPE / ROADSTER / CABRIO nomination:
- Audi A5 Coupe
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabrio
- Nissan GTR
- Porsche 718 Cayman
- In a special LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE / PICKUP nomination all five new models which entered the Russian market in 2016 become nominees:
- GAZelle Next Minibus
- FIAT Fullback
- Isuzu D-Max
- Renault Kangoo Z.E.
- Volkswagen Amarok
In total, South Korean manufacturer Hyundai is the leader among nominees with four entries including its brand-new premium sub brand Genesis. The second notch is occupied by Mercedes-Benz with three models.
The seventh special category is the BEST PR-DEPARTMENT OF A CAR MANUFACTURER. While choosing the nominees the jury evaluated the expertise and skills of press officers of automotive companies to build a day-to-day and efficient communication between car manufacturers and journalists. The following PR-departments have made it to the top-5:
- Jaguar Land Rover Russia
- Mazda Motor RUS
- Mitsubishi Motor Company RUS
- Renault Russia
- Škoda Auto Russia
Traditionally the nominees in a special category AUTO-PERSON OF THE YEAR are determined on basis of media monitoring data, provided by Mediascope Media Research Company. Entrants with the highest number of positive and neutral media hits become nominees. This season the monitoring was conducted on 252 federal and regional media outlets. The leaders of the fifth season are:
- Denis Manturov – Minister of manufacturing industry and commerce of Russian Federation
- Nicolas Maure – President of AVTOVAZ Company
- Lubomir Najman – Head of Audi Russia
- Joerg Schreiber – General director of MAZDA MOTOR RUS, Head of Auto Manufacturers Committee of Association of European Business (AEB)
- Sergey Udalov – Executive director of analytic agency AUTOSTAT
The winners of National Award of Automotive Business Experts TOP-5 AUTO 2017 are to be announced at the awarding ceremony, which will take place during the last ten days (the exact date is to be determined) of May 2017. The official vote counter of the award is KPMG international audit and consulting company.
